Part of the Pack
by evieeden
Summary: Bella is considered to be part of the pack now, but that means something different from what she initially thought.
1. Chapter 1

**Ok, so the idea for this hit me randomly and so I had to write it. At the moment I'm marking it as complete but I might add random chapters to it later on revealing more about the idea that I actually had in my head. I hope you all like it.**

**Thanks to the lovely msrachelgarner for pre-reading this for me. As always, I own nothing.**

**Part of the Pack**

Bella wandered aimlessly through the forest surrounding La Push. She was alone for now, but she knew that she wouldn't remain that way for long. Sooner or later one of her boys would come for her, and then...

She shuddered as a cool breeze came off the nearby cliffs and swirled around her.

No-one would ever say that being one of the pack females didn't have its advantages, but then it also had its complications.

One being the competitive and often contradictory natures of the nine male members.

She supposed that she was lucky that she only really had to deal with the five most dominant men in the group. Seth, Collin and Brady were too young for her to interest them, and Quil was far too easy-going to fight the other males for rights to her. Of those remaining, Jared was too blinded by his affection for Kim to pay her much attention, and Sam, once he had initiated her into the pack, had gone back to having his ass handed to him by Leah.

Jake, as Sam's beta, spent the most time with her. He was her oldest friend and the person she trusted most in the world besides her father. Embry was sweet, but he respected his best friend too much to try anything with her on a regular basis.

Paul though...

He would often find her at times like this, sneaking up on her and taking her by surprise.

Paul didn't respect Jake's boundaries and he didn't have to. He was well within his rights to fight for her as long as she didn't object.

And she never objected.

Bella had accepted what the rules were and what her life was long ago and she felt she was in no position to be hypocritical about it and start crying out for the sake of her virtue now. Not that any of the boys made her want to either.

A twig snapped behind her and she spun around quickly, nearly losing her balance as she did. There appeared to be nothing there, but the thrumming in her spine told Bella what her eyes could not. She was not alone.

Warm breath danced across the back of her neck while strong hands tightly gripped her waist, preventing her from turning around as she jumped at his sudden appearance.

Her breath came faster as he ran his nose up the length of her neck, inhaling her scent before capturing her earlobe between his teeth. Bella moaned gently and she could hear the smirk in his voice as he whispered to her.

"Run!"

His hands loosened their grasp and she bolted away from him, trying not to stumble as she fled over roots and across dips in the forest floor.

Bella ran for about ten minutes, her lungs burning as she ran as fast as she could, before she heard a triumphant howl come from somewhere in the woods to her left. Her head-start was over; he was coming for her.

She kept moving, even though she knew that he would catch up to her in no time. Past experience had taught her that he didn't like it when she just waited for him to find her. A narrow gap between two trees caught her eye – far too small for him to fit through, it would buy her a few more precious seconds as he would have to navigate around the trees to reach her.

Somewhere along the way, Bella shed her coat and threw it away from her. Hopefully, the scent of the jacket would temporarily lure him away from her. Minutes later she heard a rough bark that sounded vaguely like laughter echoing around her and she tried to speed up, her legs aching with the effort.

A gap in the forest up ahead revealed the dark sands of Second Beach and a few diehard surfers, but before she could reach some kind of sanctuary, he appeared in front of her, cutting off her escape route. Bella immediately reeled around and tried another direction, but she knew the game was up. It was now inevitable that he would catch her soon; he was too impatient to drag this out any longer.

She heard his rough panting behind her before she felt his teeth capture the material of her shirt, tearing the garment and baring her back to him. She continued to try and flee though, turning and acknowledging him would be seen as a sign of opposition, one he would not take kindly to. He snagged the back her jeans next and she finally lost her footing, her hands taking the brunt of her fall.

Even now, Bella crawled to get away, not giving up.

And then he was there, hovering over her. Human now, his body pressed her down, his hand sweeping her hair away from the back of her neck as he bit down over her nape. She cried out, bucking up at the feel of his teeth sinking into her skin, and as she did she felt the weight of his erection settle against her ass.

His mouth deepened the bite, a continuous stream of growling now coming from his chest, and he tore the rest of her clothing off with little concern for her decency.

Bella remained quiet and placid while he disrobed her, she felt a slight chill once her clothes were gone, but the warmth of his mouth on her neck was distracting her from any discomfort.

His hands roamed unashamedly over her body, stroking over her hips and the tops her thighs, his fingers darting over the front of her body to briefly caress her nipples before descending to run over the sensitive skin of her stomach. Bella squirmed at the sensation and he took advantage of the movement of her body to slide his hand even lower to graze over the sensitive swell of her clit.

She gasped his name then and, satisfied that she was ready, he lifted her hips off the ground, the pressure of his mouth keeping her head and shoulders bowed, and thrust into her, forcing her body to take all of his.

Bella screamed as he did so and he finally released her neck to growl loudly in pleasure and dominance over her.

He continued to drive into her from behind, his hips setting up a punishing pace as he continued to hold her down. Each thrust was a mixture of pleasure and pain as the force shunted her forward across the ground, leaves and bark scraping across her skin. The scratches were nothing though compared the tense ball forming in the pit of her stomach as each push hit that elusive spot inside her that made her writhe.

He grunted as he moved, a mixture of snarls and words falling from his lips.

"Bella... fuck... that's it, little girl... you know what I like... fuck, baby..."

Her gasps and moans became more frequent as the knot inside her expanded, heat beginning to suffuse her body, her stomach clenching in earnest as her body fought its way towards orgasm.

His able fingers chose that moment to help her along the way and she keened loudly as he began to pluck and rub at her clit. His other hand curled around her body to massage her breast and her nails dug into the wet earth as she bucked frantically against him. She was moving her body in time with his now, desperate for something, anything, to push her over the edge.

He bit her.

His teeth broke the skin on the back of her shoulder this time, but it was the sharp edge that she needed to tip her over.

"Fuck! Paul!"

Contractions wracked her body and she closed her eyes as white light shot though her vision. Warmth ran through her veins as she struggled to remain conscious when all her mind suddenly wanted to do was sink into oblivion so it could better enjoy her satisfaction.

Paul's tight grasp on her body though kept her from sinking to the ground. His body became more jerky above her as he moved faster, losing his steady rhythm, hurrying towards his own climax.

He came with a roar, his mouth releasing its controlling grip on her and his short nails digging into the soft flesh of her stomach.

He collapsed on top of her when he was done, groaning as a whimper from Bella had him shifting to the side so he wasn't crushing her.

The forest was quiet around them, their staggered gasps as they struggled to regain their breath the only sound.

"Are you alright?" he finally asked.

She thought about lying, but knew he'd be able to tell. "I'm a bit sore, but apart from that I'm great."

He carefully ran his hand over the front of her body, cataloguing every cut, bruise and scrape with a brush of his fingers. After he was satisfied that she hadn't sustained any serious injury, his attention returned to her face, meeting her eyes for the first time that day.

"Thank you," he muttered quietly.

The softness that only rarely showed in his eyes had her reaching up to kiss him. Their tongues entwined languorously and he sucked on her bottom lip before releasing her.

"We should probably get you home."

He rose to his feet, completely unconcerned by his nudity, and held out a hand to help her up. Bella let him pull her upright before he wrapped an arm around her waist to steady her.

"Ummm..." He scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, sorry, I don't think you've got any clothes left to wear."

She rolled her eyes. "You've got to stop tearing stuff up."

He offered her a smirk, not at all sorry. "Can't help it if that's the fastest way to get to your body."

Bella looked around at the scraps of cloth surrounding them. Something was missing.

"Hey! If you go back my coat should be somewhere around still."

"Huh." He cocked his head to one side, thinking. "Hang on a minute."

He disappeared back into the forest, leaving Bella to stand awkwardly in the clearing where they had just had their encounter, her arms crossed awkwardly over her chest in a futile effort to cover herself up.

Paul returned a second later and smiled as her attempts at modesty.

"Here." He held out her discarded jacket. She reached out for it but he refused to let it go, instead using her momentum to pull her into his body, where he captured her lips once more. "Come home with me," he breathed into her mouth.

She pulled back slightly so she could look at him properly.

"I've never been to your house before."

"Well then, if you come with now then you'll have a chance to look at it, won't you?" he argued persuasively.

Tugging the coat out of his grip, Bella wrapped it around herself, thinking.

"I've got a bath. We can take a long soak together."

As far as incentives went, that was a good one.

"Okay, fine," she agreed. "Only if you promise that I can take over your tub."

"Anything my lady wishes..." he mocked lightly. "Now, do you think you can walk back to town or would you like a ride?"

Pride made Bella decline to be carried, but the choice was taken out of her hands when she only got three steps away from him before her knees gave out beneath her. Sweeping an arm behind her legs, Paul strode along with her cradled in his arms, like she was his bride and they were about to step over the threshold.

...Well, they were about to step out of the forest in any case and Bella was suddenly aware of just how little she was wearing; it had been easy to forget that she was essentially naked when standing in the dim light of the woods with no-one but Paul for company.

Luckily, the main road was mostly deserted at this time of day, save for Colin and Brady hanging around the general store who whooped and catcalled as they walked past. Paul spared an irritated growl at the two younger boys before turning off down a second smaller road and eventually down the driveway to his house.

It was a neat one-storey building, quite sparse on the inside but everything was neat and tidy.

And more importantly to Bella, it had what looked like the world's biggest tub.

Paul set her carefully on the counter as he filled the bath and then scooped her up and stepped into the steaming water. Bella allowed herself to drift off as the warmth of the bath and being cradled in Paul's arms lulled her to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**So it turns out you're getting the next oneshot instalment of this story a bit sooner than I thought. It turns out that I get inspired to write on long train journeys. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this. Lots of love again goes to msrachelgarner for pre-reading for me. As always, I do not own Twilight to my great regret.**

**Part of the Pack**

When Bella woke, she was alone. The only noise was the chirping of crickets in the woods and the sound of howling far off in the distance.

Stretching, she grimaced as the movement pulled at her muscles, still sore from her flight through the forest earlier. Paul had thoughtfully covered her in a blanket once he had left and she now threw it off and peered through the gloom at her body. By the moonlight she could see that she was covered in scrapes and bruises from the contact with the forest floor, but she was clean and the worst of the cuts were covered up with band aids.

Wrapping the sheet toga-style around her, Bella shuffled out of Paul's bedroom, her fingers curiously wandering over the few touches of his personality that were scattered through the house. It was only when she reached the living room though that she realised just how isolated she felt at that moment. Paul wasn't there and she didn't feel comfortable just sitting in his house by herself, even though she knew he wouldn't mind.

It was then that her predicament struck her.

No clothes.

"Shit!" she swore softly.

Oh well, if Paul was going to tear her clothes to shreds then she would just have to borrow his until she could get some replacements from her bedroom at Sam's.

Rummaging through his drawers, she picked out a t-shirt that came to her knees and decided to forgo pants after the first pair of sweats she tried on kept falling down. Sliding her shoes and coat back on, she left the house, latching the door behind her, and stumbled down the gravel driveway until she reached the main road. Bella kept close the edges of the woods as she walked, ready to dive behind the trees if someone happened to drive along, but all was quiet.

Eventually reaching Sam's, she let herself into the deserted house, thankful that she didn't run into anyone hanging around, and ran up the stairs to her room. Quickly changing into clothes that actually fit, she headed downstairs and began making up a casserole for the boys and Leah. She had no doubt that when they returned from wherever they were they would want something to eat, being the bottomless pits they were.

Bella jumped as the door was suddenly slammed open and a babble of noise hit her, all of the pack talking over each other at the same time.

"Bella!" Brady shouted, barrelling into the kitchen and grabbing her around the waist, spinning her in an exuberant circle. "You made food. I love you so much."

"Hey! Hands off." He was smacked in the back of the head only seconds later by Embry who immediately tugged Bella away from the young wolf's grasp and possessively wrapped an arm around her waist from behind. "The lady doesn't belong to you." He pressed his body in closer to hers and she gave him a quick distracted kiss.

"She doesn't belong to you either." That was Jacob finally entering the kitchen and glaring at the sight of his best friend standing so close to Bella. Embry merely grinned at him, not taking a step back.

Jacob's face looked like thunder and he growled loudly. He was greeted by an answering growl, not from the man next to Bella, but from his Alpha leaning against the counter separating the kitchen from the rest of the lower floor.

"She's not yours either, Jacob. She's part of the pack and you will treat her with the respect she deserves as such."

Jake flushed slightly at the rebuke and scowling, he pushed his way past Sam, flopping down on the sofa next to Seth.

"Embry, get lost."

Embry offered her a smile and a peck on the cheek before he too sidled off.

"Are you alright, Bella?" Bella met Sam's gaze, surprised to see he was staring at her with no small measure of concern.

She smiled at her Alpha. "Yes, of course. I just need to finish this up and then I'll set the table. Food should only be about ten minutes."

Sam nodded slowly but didn't seem convinced. "Come here," he ordered quietly.

She set the spoon she was stirring with down and crossed the kitchen, her eyes lowered meekly in submission. She was then swept up into a bone-crushing hug from her Alpha.

"You smell like sex and blood," he murmured.

Bella blushed.

"Did he hurt you?"

She didn't even pretend to not know what he was talking about. "No. But we were outside so my legs got scraped up a bit."

Sam instantly sunk to his knees on the floor and began to roll the legs of her jeans up. Cataloguing each and every cut and bruise with his eyes. He stood up once he was satisfied.

"It looks like he did a good job of cleaning them, but we'll make sure they're properly disinfected before you go to bed tonight as well, ok?"

Bella nodded silently and the corner of Sam's mouth quirked up in satisfaction with her acquiescence.

"Good."

Placing a kiss on her forehead and patting her behind gently, he steered her back towards the oven before leaving the kitchen to debrief the other wolves. It didn't take long, as they had done most of their talking on the way back from the hunt, and they all dug in with unbridled enthusiasm when Bella began to serve up the food.

She took a smaller sized portion for herself as well, conscious that she hadn't eaten anything during the afternoon and sat up on the counter out of the way. Leah hopped up beside her and the two women ate in silence, shoulder to shoulder.

Around the table was anything but quiet, however, as the bickering between Paul and Jacob grew as they argued about who got to take Bella home with them for the night. Paul felt that as Bella had gone to sleep in his bed with him that afternoon, he should be allowed to take her back to his home again. Jacob countered that argument by claiming that as Paul had had Bella to himself for most of the day that he deserved to take her for the rest of it. The other members of the Pack watched the argument develop wide-eyed, their head swivelling back and forth between the two wolves like at a tennis match. Bella remained quiet throughout the whole thing. She had got between the two before during an argument and she really didn't feel like experiencing it again. Plus she knew that if she was dragged into their quarrel they would end up trying to make her choose between them, like parents in a divorce trying to argue that the children loved them best.

Eventually Sam had enough of their bickering and stood up, slamming his hands down against the wooden table which cracked under the pressure.

"Silence!"

It was almost funny to Bella how quickly everyone quietened down.

"I will not have you fighting over one of our females like this. Either you grow up, or I remove Bella from all of your privileges and you can spend all your time jerking off instead. Act like fucking adults for a change."

Jacob opened his mouth. "I just think..."

"You want to know what I think?" his Alpha interrupted. "I think that until you all can come to some sort of viable arrangement over this, instead of scrapping over her like mutts, then Bella will be staying with me in this house."

"But what about...?"

"Are you arguing with me?" The threat in Sam's voice was barely concealed and Jacob wavered for a moment before finally shutting his mouth.

"No."

"Good."

Sam's head turned towards Leah and they held one of their silent conversations. Eventually, with a nod, Leah jumped off the counter and offered Bella her hand.

"Come on, Bells. Let's leave the boys to it."

Bella slid off the side and followed her Alpha's mate up the stairs. As if they were just waiting for her to leave, the second she was out of sight the men downstairs erupted into fighting again.

Bella winced as a loud clanging sound rang through the house. Something - or someone – had just been thrown into the collection of pots and pans hanging from the wall. Leah rolled her eyes and steered the human girl towards the master bedroom instead of her own.

"Here. You can stay with us. Unless he slept at the foot of your bed Sam wouldn't be able to guarantee that none of them would sneak in to see you tonight."

Bella wrung her hands together. "I wish they wouldn't fight. It makes me nervous."

"They can't really help it." Leah shrugged. "Even without the wolves inside of them they've still all got far too much testosterone to not fight over you. Here, I'll go and get your pyjamas if you go and disinfect your war-wounds." She smirked and then quickly disappeared.

After suffering through several minutes of discomfort thanks to the iodine in the bathroom cupboard, Bella came out of the en-suite to find that Leah was already ready for bed. For the sake of Bella's modesty she had put on a loose vest that looked like it belonged to Sam and a pair of panties, even though the younger girl knew that when the two wolves were alone together they both preferred to be naked.

Bella quickly got changed and then slid under the covers that Leah was holding up. The two girls faced each other silently across the mattress, crashes from downstairs drawing their eyes across to the door every now and then.

"You know," Leah finally began conversationally, "I was so jealous of you when you first came around."

Bella's lips parted in surprise. "What? ... Why?"

The older girl pulled a face. "Because you came along and it seemed like half of the pack was immediately in love with you. Jake, Paul, Embry, Quil, my brother..."

"Seth?" Now that was a surprise. "Seriously? He's a little young, don't you think."

Leah waved a dismissive hand. "I don't think it's serious, not like with some of the others who are literally down there fighting for the right to fuck you. No, I just think it's because he's so young." She laughed. "You're the first girl to ever be nice to him; of course that means you're going to be the star in all of his wet dreams."

Bella scrunched her face up at that, but couldn't help the peculiar shade of red she was turning. "That's... I don't want to think about that."

Leah burst out laughing at the look of embarrassment on the younger girl's face. "Never mind. The girls at school are finally working out how...well-developed... he is compared with other boys his age; you'll be replaced in his affections soon enough by someone more available."

"Good." Bella repressed a shudder. "I mean, I love Seth, you know I do, but I just don't _love_ Seth."

Leah reached across and patted her on the hand. "I know, and Seth knows too."

Bella frowned. "Then why...?"

The other girl shrugged. "It's just you never seemed to realise what impact you had. You still think of yourself as this meek little...thing, not worthy of attention, and yet look at you – you've got three fully grown men down there fighting for your attention...literally."

Bella buried her face in the pillow so she wouldn't meet the accusing glare she was certain was levelled at her. "I don't want them to fight."

Sighing, Leah gripped Bella chin and forced her to look at her. "I know you don't, Bells. And, despite the lack of brains going on down there, they know you don't either. They're just...being men," she finally finished.

"Oh." Bella fell silent as she contemplated this. "I still don't understand why you were jealous though," she brought up tentatively. "I mean, you have Sam..."

"Exactly. I have Sam," Leah rubbed a hand tiredly over her face, "but in order to have Sam I have to accept that whenever a new female enters the pack, whether by joining it literally, like me, or being brought into the fold, like you, he has to have her first."

"Oh." Bella knew she was beginning to sound like a broken record, but it was all she could think of to say.

"And I was scared," Leah admitted quietly, "that he would fall in love with you, just like all the others have." The other girl's eyes were shining with unshed tears and Bella shuffled forward to wrap her arms around her.

"Never," she swore. "He would never give you up. Not for me, not for anyone. Sam loves you Leah; everyone can see it and no-one would doubt it."

Leah snuffled against Bella's shoulder, seeking out the reassuring heat and smell of pack to calm her. "I'm glad you're one of us, Bella. Even if the boys are complete asses over you." That made Bella laugh and she continued to gently stroke over the older girl's hair until she felt her body relax into sleep.

Bella was just beginning to drift off herself when she heard the door creak open and the soft pad of feet coming towards the bed. To her surprise, she noticed that all was quiet downstairs; she had been so caught up in her and Leah's conversation that she hadn't noticed that the pack had finished its argument and departed the house.

There was a soft squeak as the mattress gave way to the large body settling behind her and when a tanned arm wrapped around her waist, she felt the comforting body of her Alpha settle against hers, cushioning her between his body and that of his mate.

"Are you alright?" he asked quietly.

"Yes. Are you?"

He laughed ruefully. "Well, I have to repair the walls in the kitchen tomorrow, but apart from that I'm good, thank you."

Bella idly traced her fingers up and down his forearm as she thought. "Who threw what?"

"Embry threw Jake."

"Embry?" Bella couldn't help the surprise that coloured her voice at that revelation and spun around to face Sam.

"Yep." He nodded. "He finally got tired of Jake always assuming that he would be on his side when it came to fighting for you and decided to show his own hand." A thread of amusement made its way into his tone. "Surprised the hell out of the others let me tell you."

Bella considered this but couldn't get her head around it. "But...Embry?"

"He's a dominant member the pack too, Bella, he just doesn't see the point in fighting over most things. However, it looks like he's finally found something that he wants," – she blushed – "and he let the others know that unlike before, this time he's not going to sit back and let them just run all over him."

"Huh."

"It'll all work out eventually," Sam reassured her. "One of them will eventually beat the other two into submission and then you'll be able to decide if you want to take the winner as your mate or not. In the meantime, I wouldn't worry about it too much."

"But the wall..." she began to protest.

"Walls can be mended. What I was more concerned about tonight was making sure that you and Leah were safe and out the way." He paused, his eyes sliding away from hers as he considered whether or not to say anything. "I heard part of your conversation by the way."

"Our...? Oh." He had heard Leah's confession of her fears.

"Yes. And I wanted to say thank you to you for reassuring her. She understands about my position, being Alpha and all, but in some cases understanding comes at a high price."

"She loves you very much," Bella commented softly. "And she's very lucky to have you love her too."

Sam smiled down at her.

Bella frowned. "I never realised before how difficult it must be for her. I mean, I knew she accepted the pack rules, just as I did, but I never considered that she would be jealous."

Sam brushed a strand of hair out of her face. "I think it's because you're still unattached. With Kim it was simpler; Jared knew immediately that he wanted her for his mate and she accepted him very quickly. Whereas you are still unbound to any of the wolves save for me. It makes things difficult for her sometimes. It was kind of you to reassure her."

Bella thought for a moment before beginning to speak, hesitantly.

"You are my Alpha, Sam, and I am part of your pack. I...I thank you for initiating me into the pack, but..."

"...Let's never do it again?" Sam laughed loudly and Leah stirred in her sleep behind Bella at the sound. He reached over to gently caress her until she settled more soundly into sleep again. Satisfied that his mate was content, he turned his attention back to Bella. "Shall we do this properly then?" he asked with a twinkle in his eye.

When she tentatively nodded, Sam took both her hands and addressed her formally. "Bella Swan, I am pleased that you are a part of my pack and in return for your trust, I offer you my protection and friendship. I am humbled that you offered yourself to me and I thank you for the gift of your virginity as a sign of your deference. I hope that you shall soon find your own mate within the pack who will cherish you as I do mine."

He dropped official tone he had taken on. "Basically thank you but let's not do it again," he grinned.

Bella smiled back at him. "You're a good Alpha, Sam Uley."

"And you're a good wolf pup, Bella Swan." He kissed her forehead. "Now, let's get some rest if we can. Jacob's already lurking around waiting for you downstairs and I need a good night's sleep if I'm going to have to deal with him and your other suitors tomorrow."

Settling back down into the bed, he reached over so his arm cradled both women and cradled between the heat of two wolves, Bella slipped into oblivion.


	3. Chapter 3

**Ummm, so somehow this has turned into my favourite story to write for at the moment. This probably isn't finished here, but I've left the complete tag up because I don't know when I'm going to post each chapter. I don't really have a posting schedule or a plan here.**

**Anyway, I hope you all like this chapter. It's kind of a bit of filler, but it's necessary filler. As always I own nothing. Thanks for reading.**

**Part of the Pack**

When Sam had said the night before that he needed to repair the kitchen walls, Bella thought that he meant replacing the kitchen cupboards and doing some plastering. She didn't realise that he had meant actually replacing an entire side of the house until she came downstairs in the morning to cook breakfast, only to be faced with a view of the garden through the looming hole in the brickwork.

She stared in shock at the damage the pack had caused, but quickly snapped her open mouth shut when Sam laughed at her surprised face.

"Catching flies there, Bella?"

She frowned. "Embry did this?"

"Well, technically Jacob's body did this. Embry just threw him. It's a good thing that he has such a hard head and can take the damage; one of the younger wolves wouldn't have been able to."

Bella just shook her head at that. "I don't think I'm going to be able to cook breakfast this morning until everything's fixed."

"Don't worry about it." Sam threw an arm over her shoulders and squeezed her lightly. "Leah and I have already had some cereal and everyone else can fend for themselves for once. You only have to worry about yourself this morning."

As it turned out, Bella had a lot more to worry about than just her food. Although Sam had announced his intention to fix the wall, it turned out that he was taking a more supervisory role, and Paul, Jacob and Embry traipsed in while she was still washing up her cereal bowl ready to fix up the kitchen from the outside inwards. As an extra punishment for ruining her house, Leah had also decided that she didn't just want the kitchen rebuilt, but wanted it extended as well to make more room for the pack. With faces that managed to look both guilty and belligerent, they took their orders silently from Sam, each shooting quick glances at Bella as they did, before heading outside.

Once they were gone, she let out a breath she hadn't realised she was holding and went upstairs to find Leah.

With nothing much going on, Bella found herself cleaning the entire second floor of the house just to keep herself busy. She had finally reached her bedroom and was kneeling down to scrub the baseboards when Jacob found her.

Bella hadn't even realised that he was in the room with her until his hand came out to possessively cup her hip. She jumped at the contact and tried to spin around to face him, but his grip on her stopped her from turning.

"Did he hurt you yesterday?"

She didn't need to ask who the 'he' was.

"No. Not at all."

Bella couldn't see Jacob's face, but she could hear the concern in his voice. "I don't like it when he's so rough with you."

Bella sighed and then pushed her body backwards, using his hand as leverage to stand up. The second she was upright, Jacob wrapped his arms around her waist and she turned around, burying her face into his chest.

"He won't hurt me. None of you will," she chided gently. As much as Bella wanted to brush off his concern, she knew that he was only worried about her, and she couldn't berate him for that. Even as she clutched him tighter to her, she felt his nose dip down and run along her neck, inhaling her scent to reassure himself.

"Are you alright?" Bella pulled back so she could get a good look at Jacob for the first time that day. She was stunned to see the dark bruising that still lingered around the side of his face, proof that whatever his brothers had done to him was serious enough to not heal overnight.

Reaching up, she lightly pressed her fingers against his cheek, flinching when he hissed in pain at her touch.

"I'm sorry."

Bella went to move away from Jacob, but he stopped her retreat, tightening his arms and kissing the crown of her head.

"Come home with me tonight," he mumbled into her hair. "It drove me crazy yesterday to think of you sleeping with Sam again; for once I'd like to have you in my own bed with no risk of interruption from the others." Bella was silent. "Come home with me," he pressed, his voice low and shaky with need. "Not now, but later. Promise me you'll come with me tonight."

Swept along by the raw emotion in his voice, Bella found herself agreeing. "Yes. Yes, I'll come with you."

She lifted her head and was immediately swept up into a breath-stealing kiss. Eventually Jacob's lips softened against hers and she stepped back from him, her lips swollen, her cheeks pink.

"Thank you," he murmured, offering her a brilliant smile that lit up his whole face.

Bella couldn't help but grin back and leaning up she pecked him on the mouth again. She meant it to be just a quick kiss, but Jacob caught her mouth again before dotting playful kisses all over her face. She giggled happily at the sensation, only to jerk upwards as Sam shouted from downstairs.

"You better not be screwing around up there, Jacob! Get your ass down here and finish putting this drywall up."

Jacob pulled a face but kissed her one last time before running downstairs. As if in a daze, Bella followed him more slowly, blushing when he winked at her. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Paul scowling at Jake, while Embry was studiously not paying attention to them.

Grabbing a book out of her bag, Bella sat on the sofa and pretended to read, secretly watching the three men work instead. Although not outwardly hostile to each, she could definitely feel a tension in the air between them that hadn't been there before and it made her nervous.

She knew that Sam had claimed Leah as his mate almost immediately after phasing for the first time, and Jared had had very little competition when it came to mating with Kim, so this was the first time that there had been all-out competition within the pack for a mate.

It was a little bit scary just how far the boys were prepared to take their competition for a mate.

What was perhaps more scary was that Bella wasn't even sure how she wanted it to be resolved in the end. Technically she knew that she had no bearing on how the fighting would eventually work out, she would only have to accept or reject the winner, but she still was torn. Part of the problem, she knew, was her struggle between what the average human would think about her situation and what she actually felt.

The boys left to pick up some lunch around midday and when they returned Bella found herself surrounded. It started with Paul sitting next to her on the sofa, handing her a plate loaded up with the pizza they'd fetched. Then, glowering at his competition, Jake sat on the floor and leaned back against her legs, his hands wandering every now and then to stroke her calves underneath the fabric of her jeans. Embry was the last to surround her, perching on the arm on the sofa and throwing an arm over her shoulders.

Completely boxed in by the three werewolves, Bella was sweltering. On the other side of the room, Sam and Leah sat watching her with concerned faces.

"So Bella," Embry began casually. "Seeing as Jake here has the pleasure of your company tonight, I'd like the opportunity to take you out tomorrow."

Enclosed as she was, Bella felt how Paul and Jacob's bodies tensed as Embry spoke. A low rumble began to come from the man next to her and Jake's grip on her leg tightened for a fraction of a second.

"Paul!" Sam's sharp rebuke cut out the growl, but Bella could feel the force of Paul's stare as he glared at the man on her other side.

"You know," Leah commented, "Bella actually doesn't have to spend time with any of you if she doesn't want to. You're all acting like you're entitled to take turns with her, one a day, but she's not just a body for you to fuck. She's allowed to not spend every minute with you all."

Throughout Leah's speech, Bella felt her shoulders get higher and higher with tension. Paul and Embry looked like they were about to jump across the room and tackle their Alpha's mate, but a warning snarl from Sam had them both settling down.

"Bella?"

She turned to face Embry and forced a smile onto her face. "Sure. But can we make it the day after tomorrow instead?"

"Of course." Embry leaned in and pressed a lingering kiss against her temple. "Whatever you want."

"Whatever I want," Bella echoed.

Wriggling in her seat, she forced her way out from in between the warm bodies. "I need to go to the bathroom."

As she escaped behind a locked door, Bella heard Sam's impatient growl.

"What did I tell you yesterday? Don't fucking fight over the girl like she's a chew toy otherwise I'll lock her away from all of you until you get your fucking acts together!"

Silence fell after that, with not even the sound of the building work in the kitchen penetrating the room.

Bella leaned heavily onto the edge of the sink and stared at herself in the mirror. She didn't get it. She had expected Jake to want her as a mate; that was part of the reason why he had brought her into the fold. But Paul? And Embry?

A knock at the door startled her out of her thoughts and she unlocked the bolt, only for Embry to slip into the room a second later, shutting the door behind him. The sound of the bolt clicking into place seemed deafening in the quiet room.

"Are you okay?"

Bella shook her head. "What's up, Embry?"

He took a step towards her and then retreated when she froze at his sudden movement. "I want to apologise..."

"For what?" she cut him off.

Embry frowned. "For fighting over you like you're a piece of meat. You don't deserve to be treated that way and I can only say that sometimes I let my instincts get the better of me. I'm sorry."

Bella looked down, away from his penetrating gaze. "That's alright."

"No, it's not."

Bella looked up only to find that Embry had sidled closer to her. Holding her eyes with his own, Embry paused and then bent down over her, pausing with his lips just a hair's breadth from hers. They stayed that way for a minute, before Bella finally gave in and raised her head to kiss him.

It was short and bittersweet, but Embry more than made up for it a second later when he grinned at her cheekily, his hands reaching round to grab her ass.

"Make sure you get a lot of rest with Jake tonight and tomorrow. You're going to need it by the time I'm through with you."

With a wink and slap to her ass, Embry slipped out of the bathroom as quickly as he had entered, leaving Bella staring opened mouthed at where he had disappeared.

"Damn, girl." Leah leaned against the wall opposite the door. "I was all for Sam putting a ban on the boys forbidding them to hassle you, but it looks like you can handle them all by yourself."

Bella blushed at the other girl's appreciative tone of voice. "I don't know what's wrong with me. I know I can push them away if I don't want to be bothered for a while but they apologise and look at me with these..._eyes_...and I just can't say no."

Leah snorted. "Can't resist the puppy-dog eyes, huh?"

"No," Bella wailed. "It's ridiculous."

Leah moved forward to give Bella a hug. "So all the boys apologised then?"

"Well, all except Paul, but then I don't think he's ever apologised for picking a fight."

"True." Leah shrugged. "Still, it's nice that Sam now doesn't have to go and find a chastity belt for you to wear."

"Ha ha." Bella rolled her eyes at the older girl. "You might still have to come and rescue me depending on how tonight with Jacob goes."

"You'll be fine. Besides, judging by your encounter with Paul yesterday you're perfectly capable of screaming loudly for help."

"Oh god." Bella buried her burning face in her hands and fled away to her room, escaping Leah's knowing laugh as she did.


	4. Chapter 4

**So despite my best intentions, this story has kind of become a multi-chap without my noticing, so here's the latest chapter which I hope you all like.**

**Thanks so much for reading, and, as always, I own nothing Twi-related.**

**Part of the Pack**

Bella hid for the rest of the day.

It wasn't perhaps the most mature thing to do in the circumstances, but given how her brain had nasty tendency of turning to mush anytime one of her wolves touched her, she felt it was for the best.

Downstairs the clattering continued as the kitchen was put to rights and early in the afternoon it suddenly got louder downstairs as the pack returned from school and immediately made a beeline for the fridge.

Throwing all of her concentration into her book, Bella managed to tune out the noise and while away the afternoon peacefully. Just as the light in Bella's room began to fade, a knock came at the door and Sam opened it a second later.

"Hey," he greeted her quietly. "You alright?"

"Yeah." Bella scrambled to sit upright. "Are you finished with the kitchen now?"

"Just the painting to be done once the plastering's set."

Bella nodded and Sam shifted uncomfortably before walking forward to sit on the edge of her bed.

"Everyone's downstairs getting ready for dinner at the moment. Are you eating with us or do you know if Jacob has something else planned?"

Bella blushed and squirmed uncomfortably under his knowing gaze. "I... I don't know. I think we're eating here. We haven't... He hasn't told me if we have any other plans."

Sam was silent, a frown line appearing between his brows. Bella felt like she needed to reassure him.

"That's fine, you know. I don't mind what we do."

"Do you mind about the others though?" he finally asked. "You've got Jake claiming you for tonight, Embry trying to claim you for tomorrow, Paul claiming you God knows when." He leaned forward and took Bella's hand. "What I'm trying to make sure, Bella, is that you're happy. As long as you are part of my pack, your happiness is my priority."

"I'm happy," Bella rushed to reassure him, but Sam held up a hand to halt her protest.

"I know you're content with this life and I know you're happy living here with us. What I want to know is if you're happy with the pack constantly treating you like you're something to be passed around. Earlier on..." Sam gritted his teeth and Bella could tell that he was struggling not to lose his temper. "...the way they talked about you, as if you weren't even there."

"Sam... Sam." Bella got his attention by squeezing his hand. "I'm good. They don't bother me."

He looked sceptical. "Really? So the only thing you really want to do tonight is go to Jake's?"

Bella grimaced slightly. "I admit I wasn't planning on doing anything tonight and after they all got so aggressive yesterday I was a bit worried, but it's Jake; you know he'd never hurt me."

"Yeah, I know," he finally conceded. "I just know how pushy they can get and I don't want you to ever feel like you have to do everything that they suggest."

"I'm not feeling pressured if that's what you're worried about." Bella giggled, then grew serious again. "I don't mind going to Jake's tonight 'cause it's Jake. He's my best friend; I know he'd never push me to do anything I don't want to."

"But the others?" Sam asked, picking up what Bella hadn't said.

"The others I don't know." Bella sighed. "I don't know what they want half the time or how they're going to react if I say no." She shrugged uncomfortably. "It's never come up before."

Sam threw an arm over her shoulder and placed a kiss absentmindedly on her forehead. "I'll have a talk with them all."

"Sam, please, that's really not necessary..."

"It is if I say so," he cut Bella off mid-sentence. "Please, let me do this one thing for you?"

Bella sighed heavily, but knew that Sam would take her lack of argument as agreement.

"Good." Sam smiled and then wrapping an arm around her waist, hoisted Bella into the air. She shrieked at the unexpected movement and then squealed as he took advantage of her helpless position to tickle the exposed skin of her waist.

Chuckling softly, he finally placed her back on the ground after she begged for mercy. "You better go and get ready if you're staying with Jacob tonight." Cracking his knuckles and grinning at Bella as she traipsed off towards the bathroom, he called out, "I guess I'll go and have my _talk_ with the boys while you're up here."

Bella huffed in exasperation but Sam merely laughed at her as he ran downstairs. Quickly packing an overnight bag, Bella stumbled down the stairs to find the house in chaos as the pack descended en masse to eat.

"Bella!" Quil wailed. "You're leaving us here to starve."

Leah slapped him on the back of the head. "Shut up, you moron. She's not chained to the oven just for your benefit. You're more than capable of getting some food together yourself."

"But she's so much better at cooking that I am," he wailed.

Leah rolled her eyes. "She can't exactly cook though if the kitchen wall's missing, can she?"

Bella set her bag down on the sofa and wandered out towards the garage. "There should be a couple of frozen pot roasts in the chest freezer..."

The words had barely left her mouth before Brady and Quil shoved past her in the race for food. She followed them slowly, pushing them aside so she could reach the food without their grabby hands getting in the way.

"Here." Handing them three containers each, she nodded her head back towards the house. "Take these in and then I'll bring the others."

War-whooping in victory, the two boys went back inside while Bella tried to rearrange the chaos that they'd left in their wake.

"Need a hand?"

Bella jumped in surprise, letting out an embarrassing squeal. Embry laughed delightedly at her reaction, blithely ignoring the scowl she sent him as she tried to recapture her breath.

"You shouldn't sneak up on people like that," she chided him.

"I wasn't sneaking up on people; I was sneaking up on you."

Bella stuck her tongue out at him. "Well don't."

"Here." Leaning over her, Embry rescued the remaining two containers and helped Bella put the rest of the food back to order. When she straightened up though, he didn't move away.

"Embry?" she murmured, her back pressed up against his chest. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing."

Bella could hear the s mile in his voice that belied his words.

"I'm just seeing you off before you run away with Jake."

Bella sighed. "I'm not running away with Jake. I'm just going to his place to have dinner..."

"...and then spending the night," he finished for her.

"Embry." Her voice came out as a whine. "Please don't you start too."

His fingers wrapped around her hips, squeezing before spinning her around so she faced him. "I won't start anything, I promise," he crooned.

Bella looked at him sceptically.

"Honestly." He held up his hands in a bad attempt at a Scout's salute. "I just wanted to come and say good night before you go away."

"You just want to say goodnight?" Bella asked sceptically. "That's all?"

"Well," Embry leaned in toward her, his head ducking down, "not just to say it."

Bella's eyes widened and then fluttered shut as Embry's lips met hers. The kiss was slow and sweet and sent her completely off balance. She had never realised before just how gentle Embry could be. Mischievous and sly, yes, but never gentle.

"Bella."

The sound of Jacob calling her name sent Bella scrambling away from Embry so that she had put the whole freezer between the two of them by the time he rounded the garage door. He eyed the two of them suspiciously; Bella was looking at her feet, an embarrassed flush on her cheeks, whilst Embry leaned back nonchalantly against the wall, a smirk on his face.

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" Jacob stood up straighter unconsciously in a show of dominance.

Embry didn't rise to the challenge though. "Not at all. I was just giving Bella a hand with the rest of this food." As if to prove his point, Embry grabbed the remaining containers of food and with a mocking salute he moved back towards the house.

Jacob watched him leave and then turned back to Bella, one eyebrow raised. "He was helping?"

"He was being Embry," was all she could manage in reply.

Jacob rolled his eyes, but then grinned and held his hand out, obviously deciding to ignore his best friend's behaviour. "Ready to go?"

"Sure." Bella took his hand and the two of them went back to the house to retrieve her bag. When they finally left for Jacob's the whole pack let out catcalls.

"Woohoo, go Jacob!"

"Yeah baby, smack that ass."

"Don't forget the lube, Jakey boy."

Their calls were cut off abruptly when Paul snarled at them. Bella tried not to look back or feel guilty as they closed the door behind them.

As they walked down the quiet roads towards the Black's little red house, Bella shivered in the cool air. Jacob immediately released her hand and tossed his arm over her shoulder instead, pulling her closer to his warm body.

Bella let out a sigh as the chill was chased from her body by his proximity and she decided to broach the subject that she had been worried about ever since Jacob had claimed her time the night before.

"So... what are we doing tonight?"

Jacob grinned down at her. "Worried that I'm going to ravish you the second we get inside?"

Bella shrugged but felt uncomfortable that he had been able to see right through her question to her concerns. As if he could read her thoughts, Jake spoke.

"Sometimes you get this look on your face, and I can tell that you're worried, but you don't want other people to know that. I guess it's a bonus of being your best friend that I can read your every expression."

Bella shrugged. "I don't think that I can do the same. I never seem to know what people expect from me."

Jake stopped abruptly in the middle of the street. "Bella," he chided, turning to face her. She shuffled uncomfortably on the spot, trying to avoid his eyes. He shook his head.

"Okay, you think you can't read my every thought, tell me now what I'm thinking." He scrunched up his face and stuck his tongue out to one side.

Bella laughed at the silly look. "You think I'm being stupid and should stop worrying."

"Exactly!" He grinned down at her. "See, you can read me just as easily as I can read you." He wrapped his arm around her once more and shaking her head, Bella allowed him to lead her towards his house.

"Anyway," he suddenly broke the silence, "to answer your question, tonight we are having a romantic dinner with just you, me and my dad, and then afterwards I thought we could do some energetic sleeping."

Inwardly smacking her forehead, Bella giggled and squeezed Jacob's side. "That sounds perfect."

The evening was exactly as Jacob had described it in the end. Billy was on fine form at having both his son and Bella join him for dinner, telling jokes and making Jake cringe as he recounted stories of his misspent youth.

Later on Bella and Jacob retreated to his childhood bedroom. Knowing that she would get hot sleeping next to a wolf, Bella abandoned the idea of wearing the pyjamas she had packed, instead leaving just her panties on and teaming it with an old t-shirt of Jake's.

When she emerged from the bathroom, Jake was waiting for her, one edge of the sheet held up for her to slide under. Snuggling down with her back to his chest, Bella allowed herself to drift into a half-asleep state.

"Bella?" Jake's chest rumbled behind her. "Why did you freak out on me earlier? You know I'll never pressure you, right?"

All of her fears came crushing down on her once more and her shoulders tensed.

"Hey!" Jacob shifted her onto her back so he could see her face. "Don't be like that, Beautiful. You've nothing to worry about."

Bella knew that he would never lie to her, but she still couldn't shake the tight, uncomfortable feeling she got in her chest when she thought about her situation.

"I just..." She hesitated.

"You just what?" Jacob prompted her.

She tried again. "You're my best friend, Jake. And with all this mating stuff... Sometimes I just worry that I'm not going to be able to give you everything you want from me. I don't want to let you down."

Jake stared down at her until she squirmed under his gaze. Slowly leaning down, he kissed her reassuringly and then settled down onto his back, pulling her body effortlessly over his so he could wrap his arms around her.

Bella allowed him to manhandle her and rested her chin on top of his chest as he carefully brushed her hair back out of her face.

"The only thing I want from you, Bella, is you, in whatever form I can have you," he eventually said. "You're my best friend and I love you more than anyone else. I'd like nothing more than to have you as my mate too, but if by chance that never happens, then I'm happy that you're my best friend. You're stuck with me for the long haul, Bells, no matter how we end up."

He was incredible; that was the only thing she could think. In just two minutes he'd managed to dissuade all her fears and reassure her of her place in his life, no matter how the mating ended.

"I love you, Jake."

"I love you too, Beautiful. Can we sleep now? I've been on patrol since six this morning."

Bella laughed softly. "Yeah we can sleep."

"Good."

Wrapped in the warmth of his arms, she quickly fell asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**Here's the next chapter for you all where we get more of Bella's internal conflict. I hope you all like it and thank you for continuing to read this story. I actually have a plan now so hopefully all the chapters will come easily from now on.**

**As always, I don't own anything Twilight related.**

**Part of the Pack**

When she woke up the next morning, Jake was still asleep next to her and Bella took the opportunity to study him while he wasn't watching her back. She still meant what she had said to him before, Jacob really was a beautiful man, but what struck her more than anything else was just how exhausted he looked, even while asleep.

It was a heavy burden that all the wolves carried for the protection of their tribe – little sleep, constantly being on guard, heightened aggression and fighting instincts. They really had little peace at all.

A sudden burst of guilt that she might responsible for some of Jacob's stress hit Bella and she felt tears welling up in her eyes. Logically, she knew that she had no control over the outcome of the wolves' mating battles, but in that moment she wished that she could choose for herself.

She wished that she could choose Jacob, just to give him the small amount of solace that having a mate would bring.

But she couldn't. All she could do was settle back down closer to him, sliding her arm across his chest and hugging him tightly.

She didn't know how long she remained like but eventually Jacob stirred, his hand coming up unconsciously to rub her back. His eyes blinked slowly awake and he shifted to stare blearily down at where Bella was cuddled half on top of him.

"Hey, Beautiful."

She giggled. "Call me that again when your eyes are actually open."

He grinned and then yawned, his body shifting as he stretched. "My eyes are open." He ruffled her hair. "You're gorgeous and you know it..." he paused. "...especially when you're half-naked."

Bella smacked his chest in mock-offense but ruined the effect by then laughing.

Crawling up his body, she pressed her mouth to his and Jake eagerly responded. Their lips still connected, he lifted her up so she was straddling his body, the bulge of his morning wood between them and he slid his hands southwards to knead at her ass. Bella moaned as the pressure of Jake's hands pushed her centre against his erection and her hips began to inadvertently make small circles against him.

He broke away from her mouth, letting her breathe as he kissed down the side of her neck, pausing to suck over her pulse. Bella knew that he was deliberately marking her so the others could see his claim, but at that moment she couldn't find it within herself to care.

Gripping the hem of her t-shirt, Jake pulled it sharply upwards, his mouth temporarily leaving her skin to pass the garment over her head. Bella took advantage of the momentary pause to quickly slide her panties downwards, the underwear getting stuck as she tried to remove one leg at a time without having to get off of Jacob. He couldn't help his laughter at her predicament and she scowled at him.

"It's not funny, Jake."

He continued to laugh, but at her pout obligingly lifted her into the air by her waist and used his feet to help slide the panties off.

The amusement was plain in his voice. "While you're just hanging around up there, care to help me with my boxers?"

Bella stuck her tongue out at him, but obligingly reached down and helped manoeuvre him out of his underwear. He kicked the material off his legs once they were pulled down far enough and then lowered Bella back down onto his body, both of them catching their breath at the skin to skin contact.

They kissed again, their tongues moving languidly against each other.

Reaching round, Jake positioned himself against her opening and she slid backwards onto him, groaning slightly as his cock managed to hit all the sensitive points inside her.

Walking her hands backwards, she sat upright on his body, sinking down further onto him, her legs falling to either side.

"Shit, Bella. Don't move for a second, okay?"

She let out a breathy laugh. "Worried about your recovery time?"

Jake grinned up at her. "It's not recovery I'm exactly worried about. It's making sure the first time isn't five seconds long that's the problem. Damn, girl."

Bella laughed again, but couldn't stop her internal muscles from clamping down on him, making Jake groan.

"Okay," he finally grunted. "Okay. Move."

Bracing herself against his chest, Bella shifted upwards before sinking back onto his cock. They both moaned. She repeated her movement, each downwards thrust hitting that magical spot inside her. Jake's hands took advantage of her position to roam all over her exposed body, stroking over her stomach, thumbing at her nipples, cupping her ass. Bella was on sensory overload.

Eventually her legs began to ache and Jake took over for her, lifting her up and down using his grip on her waist.

A low keening sound was beginning to emerge from the back of her throat as the swirling pressure within her belly grew. Jake was grunting in earnest too, his feet now position flat against the mattress to give him the leverage to thrust into Bella with more force.

Gasping for breath, Bella moved her hand to rub frantically at her clit, little jolts of electricity shooting through her nerves as she did.

The pressure in the pit of her stomach built and built until suddenly it was released. Bella's back arched, her muscles tightening around Jacob's cock as she wailed his name.

Not missing a beat, Jacob didn't wait for her orgasm to finish before flipping her over onto her back and pounding into her with increased speed.

It was too much for Bella who was thrown into another orgasm almost immediately and this time Jacob followed her into release, the thrusts of his hips becoming jerkier as he came. Eventually his hips stilled and groaning, he withdrew from Bella's body and threw himself to one side of the bed, panting loudly.

"Fuck, Bella. I think I'm having a heart attack."

Bella, who was also struggling to catch her breath, merely reached up and patted the side of his head blindly. "I'm sure you're not."

"I am," he protested. "You've killed me. I'm dead."

"You talk a lot for a dead person then," she commented.

Once her heart stopped racing and the sound of her blood rushing through her veins stopped deafening her, Bella rolled over and pulled herself up so she was lying on top of Jacob once more.

"My head's spinning," she complained.

"You shouldn't have moved so quickly then," he offered reasonably.

Bella shot him a look. "I can get off you again if you'd prefer?"

Jake sniggered. "I'd much rather you get me off again rather than get off me."

Bella slapped his chest. "I already got you off once. Don't be greedy."

Jake smiled down at her, his eyes being drawn towards her lips before he covered them with his own. "That you did."

They beamed at each other.

Eventually their relaxation was cut short when Jake noted the time. "I've got patrol in an hour."

Bella propped herself up on her elbows. "Do you want me to make you some breakfast before you go?"

Jake thought about it. "No, that's alright. I'll drop you off at Sam and Leah's before I go and we can get something to eat while we're there. I need to talk to him anyway about the eastern border. Come on," he smacked her on the ass, making her jump, "let's go and clean up. As much as my wolf would love it, I'm sure Sam would have something to say if I brought you home smelling of my cum."

Bella blushed at his plain-speaking and hurriedly shuffled towards the shower. Although she had had sex in the pack house before, she certainly didn't want to throw the fact in anyone's face. Sam had only just laid down the law; to come home reeking of Jake would probably send Embry and Paul into an overload of testosterone.

When they were both clean, they walked back to Sam's hand in hand and Bella began to hum. She felt so at peace in that moment. The sun was shining (for once), she and Jake were all good and she didn't have to worry about being attacked by horny werewolves the second she got through the door.

"You sound happy." Jacob smiled at her, adding extra vigour to the swing of their hands between them.

"I am happy," she sighed. "It's just nice, you know? Moments like this. It makes me feel so..."

"Normal?" Jake suggested.

Bella mulled the word over in her head.

"Yeah. Just quiet moments like this – no danger, no wolves, no mating, just me and you, Jake and Bells."

He stopped abruptly, using his grip on her hand to swing her around and plant a kiss on her surprised mouth. Bella giggled when he released her.

"You're right," he mused. "Normal can be good."

Both Sam and Leah were in the kitchen when they got back to the house and the two men disappeared to talk business while Bella saved Leah from melting down a skillet and took over the making of breakfast, sending the other girl to lay the table. As she began to dish up the food, the wolves began to emerge out of the woods and off the road, gravitating towards the food like magic.

Sam and Jake returned and joined the boys crowding round the table, smacking hands out of the way and just generally making a lot of noise. From what Bella could gather, Embry and Leah had come across a vampire on patrol last night and the whole pack was now jubilant over its defeat, whooping and howling.

Eventually the whole pack scattered, the younger members off to school, Leah and Jared to college and Jacob and Paul out on patrol. With Sam heading upstairs to get a few hours sleep and Embry and Quil fighting over watching a movie, Bella retreated to her room to work on a paper for one of her online courses. Until she was mated with a wolf to watch out for her, Sam had requested that she not leave the state for college just yet, so she was taking correspondence courses at Port Angeles in the meantime.

Breaking for lunch a few hours later, she went to the kitchen and noticed that Embry and Quil's film had now finished, the menu screen of the DVD playing repeatedly in the background. Quil had vanished God knows where and Embry was now flat out on the sofa, snoring softly, his mouth half open.

Smothering a snigger at him, Bella made herself a sandwich and then made several more for Sam and Embry to have when they both woke up. She had only been back in her room for ten minutes when there was a knock on the door and Embry entered her room.

"Hey."

"Hey."

"Thanks for the sandwiches."

Bella frowned. "You didn't eat all of them, did you? I made enough for both you _and_ Sam."

He rolled his eyes. "No. Don't worry, our Alpha will get fed today...even if he can make his own food," he added quietly.

Bella scowled at him. "You can make it yourself too so don't even go there."

Embry ignored her, pushing away from the door jam and crossing her room to flop on Bella's bed. She continued with her work, treating him with the silence that he was gracing her with. After a while he was so quiet that she thought he had fallen asleep again.

Finally he spoke, the sound of his voice in the quiet of the room making Bella jump.

"Sam had a talk with us yesterday."

Bella hummed noncommittally, her eyes still on the computer. "Jake said."

Embry didn't like her lack of attention and in a swift move, he shot forward and scooped Bella out of her chair, not batting an eyelid when she shrieked and smacked him, trying to wriggle out of his grasp.

"Embry! I'm trying to do my work!"

"You can do it anytime."

He threw them both down on the bed, pinning Bella to the mattress when she tried to scramble away.

"I thought..." she panted, "that you...were ordered not...not to bother me."

"We were," he replied cheerfully. "Sam only said not to keep kidnapping you and taking you to our houses, he never said anything about not cornering you here."

Bella shot his a derisive look. He grinned at her.

"I'm not here to have sex with you," he finally said. "I just wanted to spend time with you."

Bella blinked. After a second she pushed him back so he was lying flat on the bed. Sliding over, she lay down next to him.

"Why are you so sweet sometimes and the next minute you're absolutely infuriating?" she asked.

She felt the rumble of Embry's chest beneath her ear as he laughed.

"It's just my natural charm, I guess."

Bella snorted, but didn't say anything.

Embry shuffled underneath her, getting more comfortable. "Just... Can we just stay here for a little while please?" he finally asked. "Not to have sex or mess around or anything, just because I won't get the chance when Jacob and Paul get back from patrol and with Sam laying down the law, I can't just take you home like I want to." He swallowed heavily. "So...can we just stay here for a bit? Please?"

She couldn't deny him.

"Just for half an hour then. I've still got work to do later."

"Thank you," Embry breathed fervently. He kissed the crown of her head and pulled her in closer to him. Bella finally let her body relax, her fingers tracing patterns over his chest.

She almost missed the next words he spoke.

"Thank you for giving me a chance."


	6. Chapter 6

**So I felt a bit inspired today and so somehow managed to whip out another chapter. I hope you all enjoy reading it. As always, I own nothing to do with Twilight.**

**Part of the Pack**

They lay together quietly, the room growing darker as the sun disappeared behind some clouds. Embry, who had been so quiet and still that Bella thought he had fallen asleep, eventually stirred.

"We should get up soon."

Bella made a small sound of agreement.

Embry continued. "Sam will kick my ass otherwise."

Bella craned her head around to look up at him curiously. "What exactly did he talk to you guys about? He only said he'd ask you not to keep claiming me on a rota each night, so I get the chance to have a break every now and then."

"Is that what he told you?" Embry laughed. "That's great...although not exactly what he told us."

Bella frowned and then sat up. She sat there twisting her hands nervously. She didn't know if she should ask what he had actually said or if it should remain private between the wolves. Sam had told her that he had sorted it out and so she should trust that her Alpha had done just that. With that in mind, her body relaxed, the tension draining out of her system as she slumped down next to Embry again.

He rubbed her back once she was lying next to him again. "Are you alright?"

"Hmmm? Oh, yeah I'm fine, thanks."

His hand paused momentarily before resuming its soothing motion over her body.

"You looked like you were having a panic attack," he commented softly.

Grasping Bella's waist, he shifted her to one side and then rolled over to face her. Brushing her hair back from her face, he gripped her chin and tipped it upwards so she was forced to meet his eyes.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong now." Bella jerked her head backwards out of his grasp. "I was just a bit worried before about what Sam actually said. I mean, he told me he was going to talk to all of you, but he never told me what about."

"Do you want me to tell you?" Embry asked.

Bella shrugged again, but Embry saw the barely-concealed curiosity in her eyes.

"It's probably not really that different from what he told you it was going to be about. Basically we're not allowed to keep commandeering all of your time anymore. He was a bit worried that you were beginning to feel like a rag-doll being jerked back and forth between us all so he laid down the law."

Bella considered that for a minute. "So what does that mean?"

Embry sighed. "It means that from now on you are effectively on house arrest when it comes to Jake, Paul and me."

"What?!" Bella's eyes widened. "House arrest?"

Embry rubbed her arm reassuringly.

"Just when it comes to the three of us. You're not confined to the house or to the reservation, but any time you spend with any of us will have to take place here so that your time is shared between us and if you want a break from us all you'll have a guard to protect you from us."

Bella was not amused. "You're kidding me? A guard?" She frowned. "I seriously have to have a bodyguard?" Her nose wrinkled in displeasure.

"It's not you're going to have a wolf hovering in the background everywhere you go," Embry explained. "It just means you're probably going to see Quil, Seth, Jared and Leah hanging around a bit more."

"Not Brady and Collin?" she asked.

Embry snorted in derision. "Can you seriously picture Collin or Brady taking on Paul or Jake if they're really that determined to get to you? They'd be slaughtered faster than they could blink."

Bella winced at his description but silently agreed that he might have a point. The last thing she wanted was for the younger boys to step up and get involved in this only to end up with half the bones in their bodies broken.

"Yeah, I get it."

Embry stroked her arm thoughtfully.

"It might seem draconian, but Sam's just trying to minimise the fallout. I don't think he wants to have to rebuild his entire house again."

Bella scowled at him. "Well if you hadn't thrown Jake through the wall then he wouldn't have had to rebuild it."

Embry grinned unrepentantly. "He had it coming."

Bella pushed herself off the bed, evading Embry's grasping hands, and sat down on the desk chair. Lying down next to him with him touching her, she was far too inclined to forgive him everything he had done.

"That's not the point," she muttered, knowing that he could hear her. "The point is that you should be mature and just walk away."

Embry scoffed at that suggestion. "And just let Jake waltz away under the impression that I'm just going to step aside and bow down to him while he fucks you over the kitchen counter?" He ran a hand through his hair impatiently. "I had to stake a claim then and there, Bella, otherwise I would have been completely dismissed."

Bella's shoulders hunched. She felt as if she had been chastised in some way, but couldn't quite work out how.

"I just don't understand why you all have to be so violent all the time. It makes me nervous."

"But that's the way everything's going to be sorted out," he said simply. "That's another one of Sam's new rules."

"There's another one?" Bella fidgeted. "How many of these rules are there exactly?"

Embry got up and moved to sit on the corner of the bed, taking Bella's hands in his.

"There's just two so far, although he has threatened to bind us up in Alpha orders so tightly that we can't move if we misbehave."

She took a deep breath. "So what's the second rule?"

Embry hesitated before answering.

"We're not allowed to argue over you anymore..."

"Well that's a good thing, isn't it?" Bella interrupted. "I don't want you all to argue, especially not over me."

Embry reached forward and placed two fingers against her lips, quieting her.

"It doesn't mean that we're not going to fight," he explained. "It means that when we do fight it has to be an official challenge, not just bickering."

Silence fell over the two of them.

"What... What does that actually mean – an official challenge?" Bella finally asked.

He sighed.

"I should have waited and let Sam tell you all this. It's typical that he's going to sleep through this; maybe we should wait for him to wake up."

"No." Bella sat up straighter, tightening her own grip on his hands so he couldn't get away. "You can tell me now." She stared at him, waiting for an explanation.

Embry licked his lips and then leaned forwards.

"An official challenge is made in front of the entire pack, one wolf challenging the other to fight essentially. The winner is decided when one wolf manages to get the other to completely submit. The entire pack will be there to witness the fight and make sure no unfair tactics are used." He paused.

"But... they're also there to stop you from hurting each other, right? I mean..." Bella was stuttering now, "...you're...you're not going to actually...hu...hurt each other, are you?"

Embry pulled his hand out from between hers and looked away uncomfortably.

"It can get...bloody, and accidents do happen."

Bella opened her mouth, and then closed it again. She attempted to swallow, but her breath got stuck in the back of her throat and she shuddered.

Embry was immediately there, scooping her up in his arms and hugging her to him, calming her panic before it exploded into full-blown panic.

"It's alright... It's alright. We're not going to kill each other, I promise."

Bella took deep, shuddering breaths as he continued.

"The problem in that we're too close to the animal sometimes, and this is part of the price we pay for being wolves. It doesn't mean we're going to fight each other to the death. Sam will definitely make sure that none of us are permanently harmed, but at the same time, he's also got to step back and let us fight for what we want. We wouldn't be worthy if we didn't fight for you."

Bella raised her head blindly and placed sloppy kisses up his neck and along his jaw before she finally reached his mouth. She kissed him with fervour, pouring all of her panic into their connection and letting him sooth her worries away. Eventually, she composed herself enough to pull away.

"I'm sorry... Sorry."

"Bella," the amusement in his voice was plain, "you should know by now that you never have to apologise for kissing me."

She blushed and that made him laugh even harder. He hugged her tightly.

"You're adorable, really."

Bella hid her face and stood up, walking across the room, she grabbed her hairbrush and ran it quickly through her hair. "I look like a mess. I should probably clean up before we go downstairs."

Embry flopped back onto her bed again with a huff. "You know you don't have to go downstairs just yet if you don't want to."

Bella glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. Despite his words earlier, he looked tense.

"If we stay up here for any longer someone's bound to come up and check up on us," she argued. "Surely it's better to just be downstairs already in sight so they can't say anything."

Embry scowled, but dragged himself off the bed. Ignoring his pouting, Bella went to the bathroom to clean up. She was just splashing some water on her face when the lock on the door rattled and then clicked as the latch broke. Embry quietly slipped into the room and shut the door behind him.

"Embry! What are you doing?" She was completely puzzled by his behaviour.

"I wanted to see you," he said with a guilty smile.

Bella put her hands on her hips. "You only just saw me two minutes ago."

He stopped moving towards her. "I know." He thought about it. "Ok, I decided that I didn't just want to see you. I wanted to seduce you as well."

Bella froze, sure that she had heard him wrong.

"Excuse me?"

"I want to seduce you," he repeated, slinking towards her as he did. "It that a problem?"

"Ummm..."

Any protest she might have given was cut off as Embry began to place kisses down her neck, hissing in irritation when he discovered the hickey that Jacob had left, but then moving around to the over side of her neck to leave his own mark.

Bella wasn't entirely sure how she had got herself into this situation, but when Embry swiftly knelt and jerked her jeans and underwear down, only to then run his mouth up her thighs towards her centre, she didn't really care.

She clawed at his scalp, fingers entangled in his hair, as he lashed at her clit with his tongue, hurtling her into orgasm before she'd even realised what was happening. Barely giving her time to recover, Embry stood up and dropped his cut offs, releasing his straining erection.

Grabbing Bella's hips, he lifted her up and pressed her against the wall, thrusting into her and sending her thudding back against the tile. He set up a punishing rhythm and Bella moved her arms to wrap around his neck, clinging to him tightly as he bounced her up and down on his cock. Her legs hooked over his slim hips, her heels digging into his ass as she added pressure to every drive into her body.

Her gasps were getting more high-pitched as Embry drove her towards a second peak, his grunts adding to the cacophony of noise resonating around the bathroom. Shifting his grip, he balanced her on one hand and slid the other down to rub over her clit. Bella felt the contractions in her stomach get stronger before the sensations got so strong that bright flashes of light flickered beneath her eyelids.

Embry continued to pump into her, slower now and the continued movement made her nerves twitch with overstimulation. A few thrusts later and he came.

"Bella!"

He gave one last push, his head thrown back, the tendons in his neck and shoulders standing out as his body tensed.

Time seemed to stand still for them, until very gradually his muscles began to loosen one at a time. Stepping back, he lifted Bella off his gradually wilting erection and lowered her gently to the floor. Despite his carefulness, her legs immediately gave way beneath her and she ended up slumped on the floor.

When she had finally caught her breath, Bella struggled back into her panties and jeans, noting that Embry was somehow already clothed and was leaning against the sink, perfectly composed once more.

She lifted up her arms weakly. "Help me up."

He helped her to stand and then watched as she braced herself against the wall.

"What just happened here?"

Embry began to smirk, but Bella cut him off before he could open his mouth, halting the sarcastic answer she was sure he was about to say.

"I know we just had sex; you don't have to tell me that. What I mean is what just happened between me and you just now."

For the first time since entering the bathroom, Embry looked awkward. He scratched the back of his neck and shuffled his feet.

"I don't know. I was just thinking about the mating challenge and claiming you and instinct just took over and I had to have you. I'm sorry."

Bella wanted to say something else, but he looked so dejected, like he was just waiting for her to scream at him, that she kept her mouth shut.

"It's fine. I mean... it's not fine, it's not what I planned on doing with you today, but I get it."

"Thank you." Embry embraced her and she clung to him, letting the smell of musk and wolf and Embry calm her down. She couldn't berate him for giving into his natural impulses, especially when she had made no move to stop him and had in fact enjoyed herself.

"We should go downstairs," she finally murmured. "Can you give me a second to clean up first?"

"Sure. I'll be waiting outside."

Bella let out a deep breath once he was gone. Part of her wanted to freak out at just how crazy all of her wolves were suddenly behaving. They'd never had a problem before, but it seemed as though Paul's encounter with her in the woods had fired off some kind of starting gun for them and now she was barely left alone.

Although Bella would've preferred to take a shower, she didn't want to keep Embry waiting or give him any incentive to join her back in the bathroom again, so she settle for quickly cleaning herself up before heading downstairs with him.

As soon as she hit the last step though, she wished she'd taken the time to wash properly.

The entire pack was gathered in the lounge, their noses flaring as she entered the room. Jacob and Paul stood on opposite sides of the sofa from each other, both of them glaring at Embry.

Sam, on the other hand, had all of his attention of her, looking her over with a mixture of frustration, concern and amusement.

Bella scanned all of the faces now staring at her and Embry.

"Shit!"


	7. Chapter 7

**Here's this week's last update. The next post after this should be sometime mid-week hopefully. I hope you all enjoy reading this and thanks so much for sticking with it. I own nothing to do with Twilight...unfortunately.**

**Pack of the Pack**

Bella shuffled from foot to foot, trying hard to avoid anyone's gaze. Unfortunately they all seemed determined to stare curiously at both Embry and herself. She could feel the heat rising in her cheeks and as her discomfort at the silence in the room grew, she felt the sting of tears in the back of her eyes.

Finally, Sam spoke. "Seth, Leah."

The siblings immediately moved closer to Bella, leading her into the kitchen and away from the inquisitive gawking of the rest of the pack.

"Boys are so stupid sometimes," Leah remarked scathingly.

It was just what Bella needed to halt the tears and she giggled somewhat hysterically as Seth protested his sister's words.

"Hey!"

"Well, they are," Leah argued. "Only a boy would think it was a good idea to fuck a pack female in the house when all the other males are around too." She rolled her eyes, not noticing that Bella had frozen in place.

"Embry...knew everyone was downstairs?" She squeezed her eyes shut, hoping that she was mistaken. The sudden hush from the next room though proved her right.

When Bella opened her eyes it was to find that Leah was concentrating on pulling pans out of the cupboard while Seth stared at the floor.

Frustration and anger welled up instead her at being manipulated that way. "Seriously?! I'm going to kill him."

A choked off laugh came from the next room and the corner of Leah's mouth twitched.

"I think he was just trying to show the other guys that he has a claim on you as well," the she-wolf half-heartedly explained.

"I think everyone already knew!" Bella hissed. "He didn't have to do anything like that to prove it."

Leah shrugged. "Like I said, boys are stupid."

Back in the other room, the voices got louder as Sam began to lay down orders.

Leah and Seth cocked their heads, clearly listening to what they were saying. Bella kept her head down, stubbing her toes into the wood of the floor, a frown on her face. For the first time since Jacob had explained to her what exactly was involved in becoming a pack female, she rued the lack of control she had over her life. Sure, Sam was a sympathetic and thoughtful leader, but not being able to make her own decisions when it came to her involvement with the three wolves bothered her a little.

Coming out of her musings, she noticed that the Clearwaters were now watching her with concern.

"Are you okay, Bella?" Seth asked hesitantly.

She pasted a smile on her face, forcing past her discomfort. "I'm fine, thanks. Just wondering what to make for dinner."

He wrinkled his nose, but decided not to push her.

Leah took a more direct approach, slapping Bella's hands away from where she was beginning to heat up a pan for dinner.

"Don't. You're not here just to cook for us. You deserve a break. We can always order out tonight."

Bella obeyed, but now she felt even more uncomfortable. She knew Leah was just trying to be kind, but right now she needed something to take her mind off the three men in the next room.

The dull hum of talking in the lounge suddenly cut off and the shuffling of people's feet came as the pack gradually left, calling goodbyes as they did. The three in the kitchen yelled their goodbyes back before all went quiet in the house. A minute later Sam appeared in the doorway, leaning against the frame, his arms crossed.

"Seth, you wanna go and pick us up some dinner." It was phrased like a question but the tone of his voice left no opportunity for refusal.

"Sure," the younger wolf smiled, lightening the tension that had fallen over the room with the arrival of the Alpha. "What are we having? Can we have pizza?"

"No." Leah smacked her little brother on the shoulder. "We always have pizza when we have take out and I'm sick of it."

"What about Chinese?" Bella suggested. "Then we can get a mix of food off the menu."

"See, this is why we keep you around," Leah joked, "you're better at organising stuff than the rest of us. Seth and I can go and get it."

"Awww," her brother protested. "Why do I have to go?"

Leah slapped him again, this time around the back of his head. "Because I said so, that's why." She rifled through the jars on the counter until she found the one containing the grocery money. "Come on, loser."

With a smile and wave to Bella and a quick kiss with Sam, she left, dragging a grumbling Seth behind her. With the two siblings gone, Bella suddenly realised that she had been manipulated into a conversation with Sam. The look on his face made her want to run back upstairs and scrub any traces of her encounters with Jacob and Embry off until her skin was raw.

His silence only made her want to talk.

"I didn't know that you were all waiting downstairs. I wouldn't have done anything if I had."

Her confession was barely audible but it spurred Sam into action. In a heartbeat he was across the room, drawing Bella into a hug, one big hand stroking her hair and calming her down. She clung to him like he was the only port in a storm. As her Alpha, he was her safe haven, and she needed him in that moment more than ever.

"I know you didn't," he reassured her. "That was all on Embry. I've already had words with him about it. He was trying to prove a point to the other two, I think, and he went the wrong way about it."

Bella felt compelled to defend him from taking all the blame. "It's okay."

Sam laughed sharply. "No, it's really not okay, but hopefully now that I've put new orders in place you won't have to deal with awkward situations like the one today in the future."

"He told me your new rules."

Sam swore under his breath. "I was hoping to get a chance to go through those with you myself before anyone else had a chance to."

"You needed your sleep."

"But still, I wanted a chance to go over them with you so you know what's going to happen in the future."

Bella leaned back slightly so she could see his face. "It's pretty much no overnight stays with any of them in the future and no visits with them without another wolf present, right?"

"Right," Sam confirmed. "As their challenges with each other develop what we don't want is for one of them to take advantage of you being alone."

Bella snorted. "I think it's a little late for that."

Sam offered her a quick grin. "Embry's a sneaky little shit, but I've bound him up so tightly with orders from now that he'll be lucky to have you image flash in his head when he jerks off from now on."

Bella wrinkled her nose at that. "Yeah... that's..." She shook her head, unsure of how to address Sam's frank statement.

"Anyway," he got back to the point in hand, "I don't want you to go anywhere on the reservation without another wolf with you. They don't have to intrude upon your time at all, but if you could stay within eyesight of them that would be best."

Bella frowned. "How come you're being so strict about their behaviour now? I mean, I'm not questioning you," she rushed to explain, "but I don't understand why now. Why do I need an escort now when I didn't before?"

Sam sighed and took a step back, scrubbing a hand over his face tiredly as he did.

"You've noticed lately that Embry, Paul and Jacob have become more...aggressive...lately when it comes to claiming you?"

Bella thought back. "A little. I mean, they weren't thrilled about each other, but I've been in the pack formally for about six months now and it's never been an issue before."

"It's because... Shit! I should've got Leah to have this conversation with you..."

Bella looked at Sam warily. "What conversation?"

Sam leaned back against the counter. His lips moving silently, he looked like he was having an argument with himself. Finally he just settled for blurting it out.

"Mating season is coming up."

Bella stared blankly at him. "Mating season?"

"Yeah." He seemed as lost for words as she was. "It's only for a couple of months each year, but it's when both you and your mate are at your most...fertile..."

He gave her a searching look, willing her to put the pieces together.

Bella turned over the idea in her head. "So, basically it's the time of year when I'm the pack's brood bitch?"

She hadn't meant to put it quite so bluntly, but a small part of her gained some satisfaction from Sam's flinch at her crudity.

"You're not anyone's brood bitch, Bella. I don't want you to think that ever again." Her Alpha swallowed. "It's not really relevant nowadays anyway especially with all the modern contraceptives there are. I got through this with Leah last year and having a baby...or a puppy...," he grinned, "was never really an option."

Picking up Bella, he sat her on the counter so their faces were now level with each other. His smile dropped away to be replace by his serious face once more.

"What it means is that during that time, our wolves are more territorial. We protect our mates from any other males who might try to claim them by force. You've noticed that you haven't seen Kim around lately."

Bella nodded.

"That's because Jared's already begun to feel the strain of having her around the rest of the pack. Whenever you see them in public nowadays they're always joined at the hip. That's his wolf behaving according to its natural instinct right there. I think the reason why the boys have been fighting more often over you, when they didn't before, is because each of their wolves know that you haven't been fully claimed by a mating bite yet, despite Jake and Embry's best efforts on your neck."

Bella's cheeks turned pink, her hands coming up to cover the two love bites that had been left on her neck. Sam shook his head at her and gently pulled her wrists down.

"They all want you for a mate, Bella, now more than ever. They're wolves are pushing at them to take you and claim you, but until one defeats the other two their natural aggression won't let them leave you alone."

Bella shuddered.

"What about the fighting?" she asked quietly.

"Bella..." Sam sighed. "I wish that I could just allow Jacob to take you. I know that's what both of you initially planned when he introduced you to the pack and I know that out of the three of them he's the one that you're closest too. If I could call the shots and let him take you as his mate then I would; I think you two would be really good together."

"But...?"

"But we give over so much of ourselves to our animals that this is the one thing they insist on, that we have a mate of their choosing – someone strong and capable of bearing children – someone the wolf sees as a worthy mate. In a pack only the dominant males have the opportunity to find a mate like that and in order to prove their dominance they have to fight. I got lucky in that Leah's wolf recognised and accepted mine and that no-one else staked a claim. In your scenario, you were lucky, or unlucky, enough to have three wolves in this pack recognise you as a potential mate."

I'd never seen Sam look as helpless as he did in that moment; his human compassion was fighting with his lupine instincts and the beast inside him wasn't going to lose this battle. He would let his pack fight for a mate; it was the only way he could let things play out.

"So they'll fight." I nodded my head slowly.

"They'll fight," he agreed. "Not to the death, of course, but until one submits or proves his absolute dominance over the other."

I smiled weakly. "Any hints on who's going to win?"

He frowned thoughtfully. "I'm not really sure. If this was just a normal fight, I'd lay my money on Jake; his hierarchy in the pack shows that he's certainly capable of beating both Embry and Paul and has done in the past..."

"But?" Bella prompted again.

Sam licked his lips. "Embry's never really had anything to fight for in the past. He doesn't especially like conflict within the pack so he tends to stay out of it. It means that except in the cases of vampires, we've never really seen his true capabilities as a fighter."

"And Paul?"

"Paul has aggression on his side," Sam explained. "His control on his temper is so fine that it makes him unpredictable. Jake and Embry would fight logically, working out the best attack and defence based on opportunity. Paul just throws himself into fighting all guns blazing. It makes him a wildcard in the field, but it also means that the other two will find it hard to predict his moves."

Bella bit her lip. "So what you're basically saying is that any of the three could win?"

Sam gave a half-laugh. "Basically, yep. Anything could happen."

"Well that's not at all reassuring."

Shifting her legs aside, Sam moved closer so he could wrap his arms around her. "I'm sorry I can't offer you more."

"It's fine." Bella shrugged. "I always knew this was a crazy world I was getting myself into. I can deal with it."

"Good," he said decisively. Placing a kiss on her forehead, he scooped her up and carried her through to the sofa. "Now, because you've been so good about it all and even though I am Alpha so I rule, I'll be kind and let you pick what we watch tonight."

Bella laughed at that. "You're very gracious, thank you."

"You're welcome." He winked at her and grinned. "Just no chick flicks. The last time I watched one with Leah I could feel my balls crawling back up inside my body."

"I really don't want to about your balls." Seth and Leah were back. "That's nasty shit."

Sam straightened up and headed over to his mate.

"Bella's got control of the TV tonight."

"Oh," Leah looked as if she had just remembered something. "Was he complaining about watching A Walk to Remember with me again?"

"Yeah," Bella confirmed.

Leah smiled evilly. "Want to pick out something worse to watch tonight?"

"Absolutely."


	8. Chapter 8

**So here's my latest chapter of this fic. Thanks for bearing with me while I had RL stuff going on. Anyway, I hope you all like this chapter – lots going on in this one – and thanks for continuing to read and bear with me.**

**Like always, I do not own Twilight. I would be so much richer if I did.**

**Part of the Pack**

Over the next month Bella was subjected to the strangest seduction she had ever faced before.

Each wolf was determined to make her fall in love with them and as they could no longer use their physical charms to gain her favour, thanks to Sam's edict, they now relied on their respective courting methods to sway her emotions.

Jake was just as affectionate and caring as always, but then they had always been so in-sync with each other. Paul toned down his aggression and tried to open up more to her, something that didn't come easily to him, although he was still prone to grabbing her when she was left alone by her guard and passionately kissing her, his body fighting against the order to leave her alone. Embry was still as sly as ever, but he made a concerted effort not to push Bella too far, instead settling for sneaking sweet kisses from her when she was least expecting it. Bella found that when he actually stopped trying to wind both Paul and Jacob up, he was actually very good company, with them sharing many of the same interests and hobbies.

It should have made the situation clearer for Bella; instead it just seemed to make everything more complicated.

The situation amongst the pack as a whole was getting to her too.

All the wolves were on edge because of the conflict within the pack and it got even worse though when Paul and Jacob agreed on a date for their first challenge against each other. The three dominant wolves, while civil to each other before, were now barely speaking to each other. The last pack meeting had disintegrated into chaos when they were unable to contain their aggression.

The constant tension amongst the pack was beginning to affect everyone and Bella was slowly being driven mad.

Sat on the sofa, she ignored the book she was meant to be reading and glared at Seth, her guard for the day.

He looked away from the TV. "What's up, Bells?"

"Nothing." She pouted.

Seth shrugged, but went back to watching his show. Bella briefly considered throwing her book at his head, but realised with his reflexes that he would probably just catch it before it could actually hit him.

Slamming the book closed, she tossed it onto the coffee table and went to the kitchen for a glass of water. Turning around, she cursed as she collided with Seth, who had silently followed her out of the lounge.

"What are you doing?" She pushed him back away from her.

"I'm keeping an eye on you, like Sam said."

Bella scowled. "Sam said to keep Paul, Embry and Jacob away from me, not to get all up on my ass whenever I move ten foot away."

He grinned, completely unfazed by her show of temper.

"Sam said to keep you in sight and so that's what I'm doing. If you've got a problem with that then you can take it up with him."

Bella wrinkled her nose and then sighed.

"I know, I'm sorry. I just hate being monitored like this, feeling like I can't leave the house without it being a problem."

Seth slung his arm over her shoulder. "Don't worry about it, Bells. We're all starting to get cabin fever around here lately. Besides, we can always go out if you want."

"We can?" Bella leapt at the suggestion. "Like we can go outside of the reservation and everything?"

"Sure, why not?" Seth shrugged. "As long as you've got me with you, I don't see why it would be a problem. We're here to guard you for the big bad wolves," he teased. "Not to keep you prisoner."

"Really?" She bounced like an excited child. "We can go into Forks?"

"Sure. Where do you want to go?"

Bella's enthusiasm was temporarily halted. She had felt so energized at the prospect at having a break that she hadn't considered where to go.

"Ummm..."

"We could go to the diner," Seth suggested. "There's not really anywhere else in Forks to hang out unless you want to go as far as Port Angeles?"

Bella considered her options. "I don't think I'm up for driving that far. How about we stop at the station and visit Charlie for a while and then go to the store afterwards? We need to stock up on supplies and the general store down here doesn't have as much choice."

"Sounds good." He offered her a smile. "You go and get ready and I'll call Leah and let her know where we're at so no-one worries if we're not back by the time they get home."

Bella ran upstairs, grabbing a bag and her purse and shoving her feet in her sneakers. By the time she had quickly ran a brush her hair and got downstairs again, Seth was waiting for her. They took her truck into town, Bella chattering happily as they left the reservation for the first time in weeks.

She was glad that they took the time to drop in on Charlie as apart from pack bonfires and the odd dinner at the Blacks' house, she didn't see him as often as she liked. He was grateful for the tubs of meatloaf and cookies and even gave her a hug and a quick kiss on her head when she left. Her father wasn't a very demonstrative man, but he had missed her when she had first moved into Sam and Leah's on the reservation even though she wasn't that far away from her childhood home. Charlie didn't really understand why she had moved in with an engaged couple that she wasn't especially good friends with or what her relationships were the boy she had know all her life and his friends, but he and his daughter operated on a need to know basis. The chief of police was a simple man at heart; as long as Bella was happy and healthy, he wasn't too worried about her life choices.

She left the station humming, a spring in her step that hadn't been there before.

When they reached the store, Bella grabbed two trolleys and shoved one at her companion. They trundled up and down the aisles, bickering over the food. Seth thought that the wolves could get away with not eating any fruit or vegetables. Bella disagreed. They had just reached the freezer section when the werewolf suddenly groaned.

"Damnit! I promised Leah I would pick up her prescription while we're here. Will you be ok if I just run and get it filled?"

Bella rolled her eyes at him. "Seth, we're in a grocery store. I very much doubt Jake's going to jump out from behind the hotdogs and ravish me on a bed of frozen peas." She shoved his shoulder. "Go. I'll be fine for the two minutes you leave me alone."

"As long as you're sure?" Seth looked worried, but left when Bella shooed him away with her hands.

She ambled along the aisle, mentally running through her grocery list. She was lucky that Seth had taken his trolley with him. She couldn't imagine trying to haul two of them around the store. No doubt she'd end up getting stitches in her scalp if she tried.

Opening a freezer door to get some half-price beef joints, she shivered as the cold air blew around her, goose bumps rising on the back of her neck.

It wasn't until after she shut the door that she realised the coolness wasn't going away.

"Bella?"

She spun around quickly, her back slamming against the wall of doors, her breath catching.

He stood in front of her, looking as unchanged as the day he had left her, but then he would do, she supposed.

"Edward."

She couldn't stop staring at him. Over time he had gradually faded in her memory, so to see him now was startling. He was so much more beautiful than she remembered and yet now, with her wolves to compare him to, there was an air of unreality about him. He didn't look like a real person whom she could touch or hold.

"Bella," he repeated. "You're here."

He reached out a hand towards her face but paused with his hand in the air when she flinched back. Instead he ran a hand uncomfortably through his hair.

"Wh... What are you doing here...back?"

Edward sighed.

"Alice couldn't see you in her visions," he explained. "Every time she looked all she saw was black. I thought you'd died. I came back to find out what had happened."

"I'm not dead," she stated numbly.

"No. You're not. I went by the police station first looking for Charlie and read in his thoughts that he'd seen you recently. You're alive, Bella." He grabbed her shoulders and pulled Bella into a tight embrace. "You can't imagine the torment I felt when I thought you were gone."

Bella squirmed in his grasp.

Before she would've given anything to be held like this by Edward, but now his touch was too cold, his body too hard, his grip too unyielding.

"Edward." She pushed against him, squirming to get out of his arms.

She wanted him to let go of her. She wanted to curl up in her bedroom and think about what his random reappearance meant to her. She wanted one of her wolves.

Silent tears began to drip down her face. "Edward let go of me."

He finally listened to her protests.

"I'm so sorry, love. I forgot myself. Please forgive me."

Bella shook her head. "I still don't understand why you're here. I mean, you left me. You didn't care about me anymore. I don't know why you're here even if you think I'd died."

Edward gripped the top of her arms and shook her lightly.

"How could you think that? How could you be so willing to believe the lie? You don't understand, Bella, I had to lie. I had to tell you that I didn't love you anymore. It was the only way you would let me, the only way you would let me leave without chasing after us. It was the most awful kind of lie, but I had to tell it, I had to convince you."

Bella was struck dumb by the revelations. She had made her peace with the fact that Edward had never really loved her, that she had been some new form of amusement for him. To have him appear like this and state otherwise was mindboggling.

Edward leaned closer to her. "Please tell me you forgive me. Tell me there's no-one else, not that I could blame you if there was, I did tell you to move on. Please, Bella, tell me that there's still a chance for us."

He moved as if to kiss her and Bella jerked her head back, crying out when it hit glass. She was sobbing in earnest now.

"Please let go of me. Please let go."

Edward moved back a little but didn't let go of her."You have met someone, haven't you?" He shook her again, an ugly look crossing over his face. "Haven't you?!" His grip became painful.

A sudden rush of defiance overcame Bella. In that moment she was so furious with Edward, with his presumption that she would be waiting for him, with his manhandling of her, with the idea that he thought he could just show back up into her life and nothing would be wrong anymore...

"Yes. I have," she spat out defiantly. "Now let go of me."

Edward's top lip curled back over his teeth and he growled. "You're mine. Do you hear me? Mine."

She felt a crack as her left arm and cried out loudly at the pain.

Edward was right in her face now.

...and then he wasn't.

Several chest freezers shattered under the weight of Edward's body as he was grabbed and thrown away from her. He was back on his feet in a second, advancing on her, only this time there was a wolf in his way.

Seth crouched in front of her, snarling.

Edward growled back and attempted to move closer to Bella again only for the young wolf to mirror his movement, blocking his path.

When Seth spoke, it was barely audible over the rumbling noise.

"You need to leave. Now."

Edward shook his head. "She's not safe with you."

Seth barked out a laugh completely devoid of humour. "You think she's safe with _you_?" he asked incredulously. "You've hurt her. You didn't release her when she asked you to. Of the two of us I think you're the one she's most afraid of."

A look of something like horror crossed Edward's face. "I hurt you, Bella? I didn't mean..." His voice trailed off.

She couldn't even look at him.

How had a simple shopping trip gone so badly? How had she completely misjudged the character of the man she used to love?

This Edward was no-one that she wanted to know.

"Seth."

Bella reached out to touch her guardian on his back. He straightened out of his crouch.

"I want to go home."

Her protector nodded. "Let's get out of here."

Shielding her from Edward's gaze with his body, he led her out of the store and got her seated in her truck, before he turned to face the vampire who had followed them.

"You come near Bella or Forks again and we'll kill you."

Edward began to protest. "You can't –"

Seth roared, an inhuman sound that made Bella cringe against the leather seat.

"Don't presume to tell us what we can and can't do on our land."

Climbing up in the truck beside her, Seth slammed the door, ending the conversation. Sliding Bella sideways, he took control of the wheel.

Once they were out of the parking lot and away from Edward's gaze, Bella shivered. Sniffling, she moved closer to Seth. She needed to feel his heat after the chill of being trapped in Edward's grasp. Despite his tense set, Seth pulled her body against his, his jaw clenched.

"I'm sorry," he bit out. "The pharmacy was on the other side of the building from the entrance. I didn't smell him come in and then I heard you cry out."

"It's fine." Bella wiped her face on her sleeve.

"It's not fine," he bit out. "I should have never left you alone. He should have never got close enough to lay his hands on you."

She buried her face in his neck, inhaling the familiar scent of pack to calm herself down.

"I just want to go home," she whimpered.

Seth rubbed her arm. "As much as I would love to take you back, Bells, we need to stop at the medical centre first. You're holding your arm funny and I want to make sure it's not broken."

She moved the limb tentatively. "I don't think it is broken; it's probably just bruised."

She could hear Seth's teeth as he ground them together.

"He should never have got the chance either way. And you're going to the medical centre whether you want to or not."

An involuntary shudder at what could have happened jolted Bella's body and Seth craned his head to nuzzle her.

"You're safe now, Bella. I promise you, I won't let anything happen to you. You're safe now."


	9. Chapter 9

**So here's the latest chapter. Lots of stuff happens in it. I hope you all like it and that you don't feel especially disappointed. Thanks for all continuing to read, you guys are fabulous. I don't own Twilight, although sometimes I wish I did.**

**Part of the Pack**

Seth made the trip to the medical centre in record time, Bella's truck rattling all the way as he pushed it to its upper speed limit. Luckily when she was there the nurse confirmed her diagnose that her arm was only badly bruised and she was sent away with just a sling to ease the pressure on the bone.

Her werewolf companion was silent on the way back.

"You know I'm going to have to tell Sam what happened when we get back," he suddenly said.

Bella winced at the reaction she knew there was going to be to her misadventure with Edward.

"I know."

"He'll probably put you on lock down even tighter now that Cullen is back in Forks. I don't think you'll be making any more trips outside the reservation from now on."

She leaned her head against the cool glass of the window pane. Being stuck on the reservation until this was sorted was what she had expected, but it was still a disappointment nonetheless.

Seth shot her a concerned glance.

"Have the painkillers kicked in yet?"

"We only left the centre three minutes ago," she replied. "So no, not yet."

They drove in silence for a few minutes.

Finally Bella spoke. "Do you think Sam will be angry?" she asked in a small voice.

Seth looked over at the small girl curled up against the door and patted her shoulder.

"Will he be angry? Yeah. But not at you. He'll be angry with Cullen for coming back and attacking you like he did and no doubt we're going to have to re-evaluate the treaty when it comes to you. And he'll be angry with me for not looking after you properly -"

"It wasn't your fault though," Bella reassured him. "I'll tell him that if you need me to."

The younger wolf scowled. "It wouldn't have happened if I'd just stayed with you," he muttered.

"Yes, but he probably would have waited until another time to corner me. And if you hadn't left my side the entire time then Leah would be mad at you for not getting her script filled."

He sighed. "She's going to be mad at me anyway. I left it on the counter when I heard you cry."

"Well, then I'll defend you to both of them if I have to. Stupid vampire ruined everything."

"That he did," Seth agreed.

They rode the rest of the way in silence and Bella didn't object when he scooped her out of her seat and carried her into the house as if she was fragile, setting her carefully on the sofa. The painkillers were beginning to make her feel woozy.

Leah arrived a short while after they did and Seth immediately pulled her aside, the two siblings having a hurried, low conversation. Bella tried to keep her eyes open, but with each blink it got harder and harder to lift her eyelids back up again.

She had just dozed off when a loud smack brought her back to consciousness, jolting her off the sofa. Across the room, Seth was rubbing the back of his head where his sister had just smacked him.

"That really hurt; you didn't have to do that."

"Suck it up." Leah stuck her tongue out and then turned to Bella. "You better come over here and sit with me while I'm making dinner then, Bella. Stupid over here says you banged your head in the store so I need to make sure you stay awake for a bit longer."

"Sure."

Bella hauled herself up, an action made more difficult as her limbs were beginning to feel like lead, and shuffled over to the siblings, hopping up on a barstool.

Happy that Bella was now where she wanted her, Leah turned to her brother and pointed towards the back door.

"You. Go. Tell Sam."

Seth pouted, but at a second glare his sister he headed outside, dragging his feet with every step. Leah frowned as she watched him clear but cleared her face so by the time she was facing Bella again her expression was perfectly blank.

"How are you feeling?" she asked as she began rummaging through the cupboards.

"Tired," Bella admitted.

Leah blinked. "You've got possible concussion, of course you're tired. And you know that's not what I meant."

Bella sighed. "I know. I feel... drained, I guess. I never thought he'd ever come back; I always assumed he wouldn't care enough. It was a complete shock for him to show up out of the blue like that."

Her friend nodded, and Bella felt compelled to continue.

"I wish he hadn't come back. He was... different. Not the Edward that I remembered. It was like looking at him again after all this time stripped away any effects his appearance used to have on me. He didn't seem like a real person anymore, not like you guys here." She shivered. "He never used to be so violent either."

Leah looked like she dearly wanted to argue with Bella about the vampire's former charms, but she held her tongue and let the younger girl speak.

Bella rubbed her hands over her eyes, resisting the urge to close them.

"I used to want him to come back to me so badly, but today I looked at him and all I wanted to do was run back here to the reservation."

Leah moved across the kitchen and hugged her.

"You're here now. You're safe with us. We'll look after you."

Bella hugged her back. "I don't want to see him again. Please don't make me."

The older girl shushed her. "You don't have to. Sam will decide what to do about Cullen; you don't have to worry about him anymore."

Bella nodded and then recomposed herself, drawing back. She wiped at the tears that were gathering in her eyes.

"God, I'm so miserable lately. All I seemed to do cry all the time."

With one last squeeze, Leah turned back to the counters. "It's all the stress. With the way the boys have been acting lately you're entitled to be emotional. Once the first fight is over we'll all feel better."

"Will we?"

"Sure. At least then we won't have the same amount of tension in the pack. We'll all relax a little more once it gets underway 'cos at least then we know something's actually happening."

"True."

The two girls relaxed in silence, Bella watching Leah as she threw a ton of chicken into the oven.

"There. They can have that when they get back in. If they want anything extra then they'll have to make it themselves."

Bella couldn't help the snort she let out at that. "At least you're cooking it for them. Knowing them, they'd probably just eat it raw if they had to."

"Ew." Leah grimaced. "Raw chicken is disgusting. Plus they'd probably give themselves salmonella and then I'd end up having to cover patrols by myself."

Bella laughed at that, but her giggle was abruptly cut off the sound of howls in the distance. Both women stilled before Leah shook her head.

"Looks like Seth found the rest of the pack," she commented.

"They won't do anything to him, will they?" Bella asked anxiously. "Because it really isn't his fault that Edward cornered me like that."

"Nah." Leah waved off her concern. "They might grouse at him a bit, but everyone knew he was only there to protect you from the witless three; Cullen coming back wasn't something any of us were expecting. They're just angry that he got into Forks without anyone knowing probably."

The two girls went back to what they were doing only now there was a slight edge of tension in their bodies. Both were waiting for the expected return of the Alpha and his judgment on the situation.

Not five minutes later another howl came, only this one sounded closer and sent Leah scrambling towards Bella.

"Shit!"

Grabbing her uninjured arm, she dragged the bewildered girl off the barstool and into the corner of the kitchen, blocking her from the entrance of the kitchen with her body.

"What _is_ he doing?!" she exclaimed.

"What?" Bella was utterly confused until she heard heavy footstep pounding across the garden and through the house.

Paul halted at the door, his chest heaving with exertion, dirt covering his body and blood streaking down his side where it looked like someone had tried to take a bite out of him while he was human. Seeing Leah's defensive position, he sunk into a crouch, baring his teeth and snarling at her.

"Paul," she warned. "What are you doing? You know this isn't the way."

He leapt at the she-wolf, only for her to meet him halfway, an almighty thud ringing through the kitchen at the force of their impact. Bella winced as Paul managed to get a grip on the back of Leah's neck and toss her headfirst into the fridge. He reached for Bella only to be jerked away, Leah's hands around his throat, her foot hooking around his knee to throw him off balance. She used her grasp to throw him across the breakfast bar, the dining table splintering under him as he landed.

In a flash Leah was back positioned in front of Bella, a long howl of distress leaving her throat. Answering calls came from the forest and Bella was relieved to hear the other wolves thundering towards the house.

Paul heard them too and he snarled in frustration, evidently realising that his time was running out before he was stopped. The younger girl's eyes widened as he launched himself at Leah again, this time using his superior upper body strength to force her down, slamming her into the ground. Bella screamed as her clearly-dazed friend was then thrown to the side, blood streaming down her face from her nose.

Satisfied that his opponent was out for the count, at least for the minute, Paul advanced on Bella, ignoring her whimpers of distress and the noise of the other wolves sprinting in the door and through the lounge.

"You're mine. You hear me? Not his. Never his. Mine."

Sam reached the kitchen just as Paul grabbed Bella and pulled her towards him, sinking his teeth into her neck as he did.

"Mine!"

"PAUL!" the Alpha roared, reaching out and pulling him back off of Bella.

She collapsed to the ground the second she was released, one hand shakily rising to cover the gaping wound in her neck. The smell of the blood was making her dizzy and she could barely focus on the sight of Sam backhanding Paul across the face, one hand choking him as he did.

"What were you thinking?! How fucking dare you attack them both like that?!"

He shook the other man like an unruly child.

One of the watching pack detached themselves from the group and moved towards Bella, crouching down in front of her.

"Bells?" Her Jacob, it was her Jacob. "What did he do? Can I see?"

She stared blankly at him as he gently gripped her wrist and tugged her hand away from her neck. His eyes flashed as he took in the bite that now marred her skin and his body jerked upwards and away from her as his jaw set.

"He marked her," he bit out.

Paul managed to speak despite the hand crushing his vocal chords. "Of course I did. That fucking leech can't have her. She's mine now. Not yours. Mine." He said the last word with relish and it was just the thing to tip Jake and Embry over the edge.

They attacked him, shoving Sam aside and letting fly with fists and feet. The rest of the pack piled into the small room, trying to separate the three.

There was shouting and confusion and somewhere along the way the fight progressed to the lounge and then outside.

Bella stayed on the floor where she had fell for a few minutes before slowly moving to get up. Everything hurt, her arm, her head and now her neck, and nausea welled up in the back of her throat.

She gripped the counters and then the walls to steady her as she climbed the stairs to her bedroom. By the time she made it to her bed, the room was spinning.

As her tears and blood soaked the covers beneath her, Bella felt the hysteria raising.

Paul had bitten her. He had marked her. He had started the mating process without her consent and without earning the right.

She felt completely violated in a way that she had never expected. She had made her peace with the knowledge that she wouldn't choose her future mate herself, but to have any degree of consent stripped away from her completely...

Curling up into a ball, she waited, and listened as the sounds of the battle below continued.


	10. Chapter 10

**So here's the latest chapter for you all. I hope you like it, and I hope a lot of the questions that people had about the last chapter are answered in this one. Anyway, thanks to you all for reading and like usual, I don't own Twilight.**

**Part of the Pack**

Once again Bella found herself curled up on her bed while the wolves reined destruction upon the lower half of the house and the garden. This time though, Jake, Paul and Embry weren't just fighting each other; this time Paul was the only target and she couldn't imagine the kind of beating he was receiving.

After a while the noise downstairs died down. Bella's limbs felt too heavy to move to go and find out what was going on.

Her head pounded, her neck ached and her arm was beginning to twinge with pain. Her painkillers were downstairs though so she stayed where she was.

Minutes later a tentative knock came at the door, but it was slowly opened and Leah stuck her head into the room.

"Bella?"

She took in the sight of the younger girl.

"Holy fuck, you look terrible. Hang on."

She disappeared again and then returned with a washcloth, bowl and the package of painkillers that Bella and Seth had acquired at the medical centre.

"Here."

The she-wolf carefully helped Bella upright and then fed her the painkillers and some water. Once she was sure that the younger girl wasn't going to collapse, she began to clean up the bite mark on her neck.

"Trust Paul to have to bite you in a way that leaves maximum damage. I'm surprised he managed not to rip your throat out with how rough he was."

Bella hissed as the washcloth brushed against the gaping wound. "How about you? He broke your nose," she enquired softly.

Leah stuck her tongue out. "It's fine. I'll heal soon enough. Jared reset it for me so it's already mending. Sam took a piece out of Paul once he saw what he had done to me, but then, he wasn't the only one."

Bella shuddered. "I don't want to talk about _him_."

Leah paused in her actions, but eventually continued without saying anything. The silence grew between the girls until eventually Bella couldn't stand it anymore.

"Did they kill him?"

Leah laughed bitterly. "No. But they made damn well sure that he'll be limping on two legs when he phases for a while."

"I didn't want it," Bella said. "Not like that anyway. I wanted to be given the choice of him, if you know what I mean?"

Leah bit her tongue, instead concentrating on digging a sterile dressing out of Bella's first aid kit and pressing it against her neck.

Her silence drew Bella out.

"I knew there was a possibility that he would be my mate and I didn't mind that. Over the last few weeks I've got to know him and honestly, I... like him, Leah. I liked him. If he had just followed the rules..."

"Would you have been happy? Would you have been happy as his mate if he had beat Jake and Embry in a challenge first?"

Bella flinched as Leah's fingers put a bit too much pressure on her neck.

"I don't know... Wait, yes. I think so, yes. I wanted things to be done the right way. I wanted to be able to look at him, look him in the eyes and know that he was my mate and he had earned the right and that he needed me enough to be strong enough to beat the others." She gave an uncomfortable laugh. "It sounds incredibly selfish when I say it like that, like I would only accept one of the boys if they fought for me, but..." Her voice trailed off.

Leah finally finished up and moved to sit on the bed next to the younger girl.

"But that's what you were told to expect so that's what your mind adjusted to the idea of." She stroked Bella's hair back off her face. "It's how we all live, Bella, there's no shame in it. If we're told that something has to happen a certain way then we adjust our thinking to that truth. If circumstances change of someone like Paul decides to fuck up all the rules then it's going to throw everyone off balance. In this case, it's you who has been left reeling."

Bella sniffled, the tears threatening to fall once more. She wiped at her face impatiently.

"I just feel so..."

"I know." Leah pulled her in for a hug. "Do you realise that you don't have to accept him?"

Bella pulled back abruptly. "What?" Her fingers rose unconsciously to brush against the covered mark. "What are you talking about?"

Leah's face became seriously. "That," she pointed at Bella's neck, "is not a complete mating mark. Paul's marked you as his, yes, but in order for it to be complete, he needs to bite you while you're...mating."

The tears could not be held back any longer. "What... what does that mean? What does that mean for me?"

"At the moment, it means that his wolf has identified you as a part of his pack, kind of like how Sam did when you joined the pack, only Paul's not an Alpha, so the bite more means that you're under his care rather than belonging to him."

Bella was almost afraid to ask. "What does that mean about the mating then?"

Leah sighed. "It means that you don't have to mate with him if you don't want to. Whether or not that still happens depends entirely on you, because you can still reject him."

"I sense there's a 'however' in there."

Leah shuffled uncomfortably. "You won't be able to be with anyone else, Bella. The mark binds you tightly together, so that Paul will always know where you are. It'll make him more sensitive to your feelings and your well-being. Even if he never fully completes the mating, you're it for him. You're the only woman he'll ever see."

"And me?"

The older girl gave her a look. "Do you honestly think that he'll ever let you be with another man? You might never feel the same way about him as he does towards you, but he's not going to give you the chance to find anyone else. It would go against every part of his natural instincts."

"_So what?_" Bella shrieked. "So he's the only man he'll ever let me get near? If I don't accept the mating or whatever then he'll deliberately stop me from ever having any other relationships?"

Leah shrugged, her eyes drifting to the other side of the room as she tried to avoid Bella's accusing gaze.

"I'm sorry."

Bella shook her head, finally realising that she was shouting at the wrong person.

"No, I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

"Hey, it's okay, Bells. Don't apologise. "You've had a shock today."

Bella let out a half-laughing half-crying sound. "And you've been slammed into the wall. I don't think either of us are having a particularly good day."

Leah threw her arm over Bella's shoulders and hugged her to her side.

"Come on. Your bed's covered in blood. You can stay with me and Sam tonight."

Bella allowed herself to be led from the room into the main bedroom that the two Alpha wolves shared. The painkillers Leah had forced down her throat were beginning to make her feel woozy again, and she just sat on the bed staring into space while the female wolf bustled around her.

"I'm just going to throw your sheets in the wash; will you be alright by yourself for a minute?"

"I'll be fine," Bella answered listlessly. "I might have a lie down while I'm here though."

Leah frowned but left her in peace.

Despite her words to the other girl, Bella didn't lie down but continued to just sit where she was. She was in a state of utter confusion.

Paul had marked her. He had claimed her for his own. She would never be able to have a relationship with anyone other than him; he wouldn't let her.

The worst part was knowing that if he had just followed the rules that Sam had laid down, she would have accepted him as her rightful mate. She would have worked towards a real relationship with him.

And now...

Now she just didn't know what to do or think.

"Bella?"

The sound of Paul's voice made her jump. He stood in the hallway, his feet slowly bringing him towards her. He was holding one of his arms at an odd angle and moved forward with a limp. From the number of bandages and tape across his chest, neck and face it looked like every single member of the pack had taken a chunk out of him.

"Stop." She held her hand up to stop him getting any closer. "What do you want, Paul?"

He glanced down and then stared at her through his eyelashes. She wasn't in the mood for his games though and froze him with a glare.

"I came to make sure that you were alright? I could feel your distress from downstairs."

Bella sneered at him. "It's a pity you couldn't feel my distress earlier on when you were beating up Leah and biting me against my will."

Paul shuffled awkwardly. "Yeah, sorry about that. Seth told us about Edward hurting you and I -"

"Decided to hurt me more?" she interrupted.

"No," he shouted. "I didn't want to hurt you. I never wanted to hurt you. I just... didn't want him near you. Filthy bloodsucker! He had no right to claim that you were his."

"Neither did you, but that didn't stop you."

Paul ran his hands through his hair in frustration.

"I wanted you to be safe. I wanted to know that you were staying here and that you were mine."

"You had no right." Bella shook her head. "No right at all."

Paul walked closer, ignoring that Bella immediately began edging across the bed away from him.

"Don't come near me."

He stopped.

He tried to explain. "You don't understand, Bella. My wolf wants you more than anything. He can't stand the thought of a fucking leech laying his hands on you. It was the only way I could keep you safe."

"No." She shook her head at him. "The best way to keep me safe was to protect here in La Push. Marking had nothing to do with that. It was you taking the opportunity to get your own way."

"Jake and Embry would've done the same if they'd had the chance."

Bella rolled her eyes. "But they didn't. _You did!_"

Paul tried to look contrite but there was an air of satisfaction surrounding him that irritated Bella. It was almost as if he was proud of what he'd done, no matter how contrite he sounded.

She spoke before she could think, wanting nothing more but to wipe the smug look off his face.

"I'll never forgive you for marking me this way, taking away any kind of consent I would have given otherwise. Leah told me... she told me. I don't have to accept you fully as my mate. I'm not yours, Paul."

The faint smile that had been dancing around his mouth faded and he jolted forwards towards Bella, grabbing her uninjured arm.

"What do you mean? What did she tell you? You can't reject me. Not now. Not ever."

Panic flared in his eyes and Bella immediately wanted to comfort him, to tell him that she didn't mean it, that she was just afraid, just shaken by the day's events.

It was too much. It was all too much.

Paul leaned towards her only to be jerked back, Sam using his greater strength to restrain him.

"Get out of here, Paul. I told you talking to her tonight would only end badly. You're both far too worked up for it to do any good."

"But... I just wanted..."

"Go!" This time it was unmistakably an Alpha order. "Run it off. Come back in the morning."

Paul's shoulders slumped, but he obeyed Sam, casting Bella one long look before he disappeared. Seconds later she flinched as she heard the door slam downstairs.

"Bella..." Sam began.

She panicked. "I don't want to talk to him, please don't make me."

He sighed heavily, but eventually nodded.

"Alright, for now I'll keep him away from you." He turned to leave. "You know you're going to have to talk to him sooner or later though."

Bella waited until he was out of earshot before she replied.

"Not if I have anything to say about it."


	11. Chapter 11

**So here's the latest chapter, my lovelies. I hope you all enjoy it, especially as Bella is starting to think with her brain and not with her emotions. Thanks for continuing to read this story, I'm so happy if you've stuck with me.**

**Much to my regret, I don't own Twilight.**

**Part of the Pack**

She was being ridiculous.

She knew it, Sam knew it, Leah knew it. Hell, most of the pack knew it too. Yet she couldn't bring herself to stop.

Everyone had left her alone for the first week, allowing her the time to come to terms with what had happened. The second week, Sam and Leah had tried to persuade to come downstairs and hang out with the rest of the pack, but she had refused, knowing that he would be there. The third week, Sam had bodily dragged her downstairs, but had quickly given up on that idea when Paul had seen it as a sign that she was ready to forgive him. Bella had burst into noisy tears at the sight of him and run back upstairs, tripping and banging her recovering arm at the same time.

They had stopped trying to coerce her downstairs after that.

Bella knew that they were only trying to help her, but after her last encounter with Paul she had felt so overwhelmed and confused that it was easier for her to hide than to confront any of them about what had happened. The longer she left confronting the rest of the pack, the harder it got.

The worst part was that the mark helped her to feel everything that Paul was feeling. His worry and longing on top of her own emotions was making her head spin.

Jake was the one to eventually break through to her.

She was lying in bed when he came, the morning long over.

"Knock knock."

He pushed the door open without waiting for a response and slipped into the room.

"Jesus, Bells. You look like you've been squatting in here."

She cast dull eyes over him before burying her face back in her pillow. "What do you want, Jake?"

Kicking the door shut with his foot, he threw himself on the bed next to her. "I wanted to talk to you, but right now, I don't know whether I want you to have a shower more or not."

That made her glare at him. He just laughed at her disgruntled appearance.

They lay in silence for a while and Bella had almost relaxed in his presence when he finally spoke.

"What are you doing here, Bells?"

She rolled over to look at him. "What do you mean?"

He huffed lightly, offering her a knowing look. "I mean, what do you think is going to happen if you leave this room? None of have seen you properly for over two weeks; we're all getting worried."

"You mean Paul's getting worried."

"No, I mean all of the rest of us are worried. Paul deserves to be ignored for a while and he knows it, but that doesn't mean that you have to avoid everyone else. Paul isn't the only person concerned about you, Bells."

She looked away from him guiltily.

Jacob refused to let her ignore him though, pulling his body next to hers and throwing an arm across her waist. "Hey. Look at me."

She reluctantly turned over and Jake rewarded her movement with a smile.

"There she is. I knew you couldn't hide from me forever."

Bella's lips involuntarily twitched and she pushed the almost-smile aside. Nothing escaped Jake's attention though and he offered her a beaming grin. Her next words wiped the smile off his face though.

"I'm sorry it wasn't you. I didn't know what he was going to do and I hate that you never had the chance to fight."

He was speechless for a second.

"Are you apologising for Paul behaving like an ass? 'Cos you know there was no way you could have fought him off, right? Especially not after he had got Leah out the way."

Bella shrugged and went back to staring at the wall. She wasn't left for long as Jake used his grip on her body to shake her lightly.

"Hey. Hey! It's not your fault, Bella. It's no-one's but Paul's fault. It wasn't like you could fight against him or anything, and we all knew he was a possessive bastard who would try claiming you no matter what."

Her voice was tiny when she spoke. "You were my best friend though, Jake..."

He cupped a hand over her mouth. "I'm still your best friend, Bella. Paul being an ass doesn't change that at all." He pulled a face. "Sure I would've wanted to say that I was more than that, you know how much I love you, but maybe this is for the best."

She rolled back over to face him at that. "How do you mean?"

"Bella, you love me, I know that, but I'm not going to go anywhere, just because we're not mated. Would I have loved to have you and call you mine, yeah, of course I would. We're friends and having the mating bond as well would have been so easy, but it obviously wasn't meant to be."

"Don't say that." She pressed her fingers against his lips, but after a quick kiss to the tips, he moved her hand away.

"He's not going to just disappear no matter how much you want him to right now, Bella." For a second he lost the cheerful tone in his voice and Bella saw the pain behind the facade. It made her heart ache. It was back a second later though. "Paul's not going anywhere, Bells, and neither am I."

"You're not?" she sniffled.

Jacob pulled her in tighter against his body so her face was buried in his neck. She couldn't see his expressions any more, but maybe that was for the best.

"No, not ever. I'm here, Bella, for as long as you need me. Whether that's as your best friend, your pack-mate or simply the guy who'll kick Paul's ass if he ever fucks you over, I'm here."

"I don't want to lose you."

"And you won't, honey. We'll just go back to how things were before, when I was Jake and you were Bells and we would just goof around in the garage drinking warm soda. The only difference is that now Paul will probably stalk you everywhere to make sure I don't try to seduce you on the couch."

Despite her sadness, Bella choked out a laugh.

"God knows where that sofa's been Jake. I don't want to imagine what kind of grease and dirt and germs it's got all over it."

"Exactly." He drew back so he could smile at her. "And now you won't accidentally end up with a rusty nail in your butt."

She laughed and laughed, and somehow the laughing turned into crying and all she could do was cling to her childhood friend and weep for everything they had lost.

When he left a while later his eyes were suspiciously bright as well. She wasn't the only one mourning what could have been.

Jacob had left her with a lot to think about, but his reassurances that she hadn't lost him as a result of Paul's actions went a long way to easing her mind.

His presence had highlighted a need for her to start taking care of herself though if she wanted to drag herself out of the state she was in right now.

Taking Jake's advice she tottered out of her room for the first time that week and took a shower. The hot water cleared her head in a way that just lying there couldn't achieve and she was surprised by how much better she felt once she was clean.

Towels wrapped around her head and her body, she ventured back to her room only to find another wolf there waiting to talk to her.

Bella cocked her head to the side. "Did you all plan to come up and speak to me today?"

Embry laughed. "Not at all. I actually came by for lunch since there was nothing in the cupboards at home and Leah figured that since you were actually showering now, she should take advantage." He held up the clean sheets and pillowcases that he held. "I'm here to convince you to make your bed. Our esteemed Alpha's mate has decided that the smell is unpleasant to her nose.

Bella's lips twitched and she moved quickly around the room, gathering up some underwear and clothes.

"Give me a minute and I'll come and help you."

"Sure," he replied cheerfully. "I'll be waiting."

Scrambling to get dressed, Bella threw the wet towels in the laundry basket and brushed her hair out, and by the time she got back to the bedroom, Embry had already re-made her bed up.

Sitting on the corner of her bed, she wasn't surprised when Embry sprawled across the covers next to her.

"So," Embry began, "you've seen more than just me today?"

Bella looked down at him. "Yeah, Jake was here earlier."

"What did he have to say?"

She shrugged uncomfortably. "He just wanted me to know that he wasn't angry with me."

Embry bolted upright. "Why would he be angry at you?"

"Because of the Paul thing," she mumbled, looking down at her hands so she wouldn't have to look at him.

"Hey." Embry grabbed one of her fidgeting hands in his own. "Is that what you were worried about – that we would be angry with you for not fighting Paul off?"

It sounded stupid when he put it like that.

"Bella, you weren't to blame. Nobody thinks that. Not Jake, not me, not Sam, not any of the others and certainly not Paul. He knows he took advantage and now he's living with the consequences."

He sighed heavily and tugged at his hair.

"Did you honestly this that we were mad at you? That you had to apologise to both of us that we don't get to mate with you?"

One shoulder rose again.

Embry laughed. "You do know that I didn't have a chance in hell, right?"

Bella's head shot up. "What?"

"Both Paul and Jake are higher up in the pack hierarchy than me, not to mention bigger as wolves. I really like you Bella and if I had been the only one competing for your affection then I would have loved to have been your mate. But in this situation, I didn't stand a chance of coming away from this with you by my side. I wanted you, but unless I got really lucky, it wouldn't have happened. So you have nothing to worry about. My feelings aren't hurt; my pride, yes, but not my feelings. I was prepared to lose you from the moment I knew who my competition was."

He playfully shoved at her leg.

Bella stared blankly at him. "I don't understand."

Embry offered her a self-deprecating smile. "I would never have been able to take out Jake or Paul by myself. Even if I trained hard and ramped up my aggression, it wouldn't have happened. I was kind of relying on them seeing each other as the true competition and taking each other out. Then I was going to challenge them while they were still tired and injured. That was the only way I could have won."

Bella's mouth dropped, and then she smacked him in the arm, hard enough for it to hurt, but it probably just felt like a pat to him.

"You sneaky bastard."

He grinned. "I know. But I had to try everything I could, you understand that?"

She wanted to be cross with him but she couldn't. She had always known that Embry was sly, but she hadn't realised that he would carry that trait over to the mating process.

"Do you forgive me?" He tried to bat his eyelashes at her, but ended up looking like he was having a spasm. It made her laugh.

"I suppose so...maybe."

Embry kissed her on the cheek. "I knew you wouldn't hold my lack of fighting prowess against me."

Bella leaned into his side and he hugged her to him, resting his chin on top of her head. His voice which seconds earlier had been so full of mirth was now oddly serious.

"He's not doing so well by himself, Bella, and I'm not talking about the chunk we took out of him three weeks ago."

She shifted uncomfortably at his mention of Paul's condition.

"Look, I know you're not ready to forgive, but just bear in mind that you're not the only one suffering at the moment. The only difference between the two of you is that he brought it all on himself."

"I don't want to talk about bit."

"No problem. I'll keep my mouth shut, especially since I now know that Jacob was probably running his off up here earlier."

"But..." she prompted him.

"Mating season's just started," he told her. "And it's only going to get worse for you the longer you refuse to accept the mating mark. Paul's an asshole, but you can't deny that if you gave him the chance the two of you would make pretty wolf cubs."

He drew back to wink lasciviously at her, enjoying her gasp of outrage. Bella pointed towards the door.

"Out."

Embry moved in the direction she had indicated as slowly as he could.

"Out!" Bella repeated more firmly.

Embry just couldn't let the situation lie though.

"Just think, you might get lucky and get a pup with half his tail missing like his dad right now."

He chuckled his way out the room, shutting the door behind him and leaving Bella stewing in a mixture of amusement and worry.

Both Embry and Jake had left her with a lot to think about. She could only hope that she made the right decision about what to do in the end.


	12. Chapter 12

**So, this is the last full proper chapter, with only the epilogue and a couple of outtakes to go. I really hope that you all like it and thanks for sticking with me.**

**As per usual, I do not own Twilight, but sometimes I think that Twilight owns me.**

**Part of the Pack**

She wasn't going to forgive him. She absolutely was not going to forgive him. There was not a single chance in the world that she was going to forgive him.

She didn't _think_ she was going to forgive him anyway.

The problem was, if she didn't forgive him, she didn't know what she was going to do.

She was bound to Paul, just as he was bound to her, as she was terrified that he would use that tie between them to walk all over her, just as he had done with the marking. Paul was too much – he had always been too much for her - and Bella was doubtful of her abilities to be in any kind of relationship with him without becoming his doormat.

Her conversations with Jake and Embry kept replaying in her head though.

They hadn't exactly pushed her towards a relationship with Paul, but both had indicated that it was somewhat inevitable.

All Bella knew for certain was that she couldn't carry on like she was now.

Staying in bed and brooding wasn't helping anyone, let alone herself, but she just didn't know what to do.

"Hey."

She glanced up from where she had been naval-gazing since Embry had left. Sam was leaning against the door jam.

"It's good to see you up and dressed... and showered."

She smiled at that. "Jake told me that I stank."

He took her words as an invitation to enter the room, swinging the desk chair around so he was straddling the seat backwards. "I don't think any of us would have stopped you from having a shower, but we probably might have suggested it in a different way."

"No, I probably deserved it."

"Do you feel better now?"

Bella sat up, leaning back on her hands. "I do actually. It was good to finally leave the room and get clean and talk to both Jake and Embry. They were... a lot different than I thought they'd be."

Sam nodded. "They can sense the partial claim on you. It's made their wolves back off a bit. They instinctually know that you're not available to them anymore so the mating aggression's mostly disappeared. All that will be left is their natural feelings for you."

She picked at her nails. "They said they didn't blame me."

"You thought you were to blame?!" Sam looked horrified. "Bella, you know you couldn't have stopped Paul, everyone knows you couldn't have stopped him, it was never an issue. Is this what you've been worried about?"

Crossing quickly over to the bed, he scooped Bella up without warning and set her on his lap, his arms locked around her waist so she couldn't escape.

"Bella."

She caved under his concerned but unyielding expression.

"I just thought that they'd blame me because I couldn't do anything to stop him and I know that they were prepared to fight him... Well, I found out Jake was prepared to fight him, apparently Embry was going to wait for them to decimate each other and then claim victory."

Sam quickly stifled a laugh, covering up his mirth with a clearly-faked cough. "Yeah," he choked out, "that sounds like Embry."

Bella smiled, just a small upturn of her lips but it was something.

"I didn't want to let Jake down."

Sam sighed and tucked her head under his chin.

"And what did Jake say about it all?"

Bella snuggled into his chest. "He's disappointed, but he says we can still be friends."

"I expect you and Jacob will be friends for the rest of your lives, Bella. Not being his mate doesn't mean that you two will drift apart. It'll just be a different relationship from what you have now, maybe even a better one."

She sighed. "It would have been so easy with Jake. Like breathing."

Sam hummed noncommittally. "Wouldn't you say that sometimes the best things in life though are the ones that don't come so easily?"

Bella turned over all the connotations of that saying in her mind. She pulled back from Sam's body, tugging out of his grasp until she was stood in front of him.

"You want me to give Paul a chance."

Sam buried his head in his hands for a second, avoiding her accusing eyes, before looking at her regretfully.

"What are your feelings towards him now?" he asked, avoiding answering her question.

Bella shifted her weight nervously, before sticking her chin in the air and crossing her arms. She didn't want to talk about this, not really, not until she had decided what her actual emotions were, but her Alpha had asked her a question, so she answered it.

"I feel that he shouldn't have taken advantage of the situation with Edward like he did. Even if he didn't want him to take me, he knew at that moment that I was safe on the reservation. I feel violated that he took what I would've freely offered him if only he'd gone about it the right way. I feel annoyed because I know that there's no way to reverse what he's done. I hate that no matter what happens he is it for me and I am it for him, and I can never even look at another man again because he'll always be there monitoring me. I feel upset because I keep thinking that if only I'd been able to fight him off then we wouldn't be in this situation in the first place. And I feel utterly exhausted, because I don't know how I feel about him and I know I should hate him but I was actually starting to care more for him before all this happened."

She bit her lip, sure that the misery and conflict she saw on Sam's face was reflected on her own.

"I know what you're going to say," she continued. "You're going to ask me to forgive him. I don't know if I can do it."

Sam was shaking his head. "Come here," he commanded, holding out his hands.

Bella reluctantly took them and allowed him to guide her back to his side. He buried his face in her hair.

"If I could wave a magic wand and make this all right for you, I would, Bella."

"I know," she whispered.

"You're part of my pack. I hate that you're suffering from what another member has done and there's no way I can fix it. You'd think that as Alpha I'd be able to fix anything I wanted to, right?" He laughed bitterly.

"But it doesn't work like that," Bella interjected.

"But it doesn't work like that," he confirmed. "Look, I'm not asking you to forgive him, I'm not asking you to forget what he did, but if you could just come and spend time with us all the next time he's here..." His voice trailed off.

"We miss you, Bella," he tried again. "And that's not just for Paul's sake, that's all of us missing you being around, being part of the group. Staying up here by yourself isn't right."

"I miss you all too," she admitted.

"Then come downstairs. Spend time with us all. You used to like us, you know." He nudged her side playfully.

She nodded, but didn't give him an affirmative reply.

Sam blew out a hard breath. Giving Bella a last sideways hug, he got up and walked out the room, pausing briefly by the door.

"I can't change the past, Bella. I can't make everything that happened right. But I can make things right now. I don't care if it's this evening or you want to wait until tomorrow, but you will be coming downstairs. You need to be with your pack to heal and your pack needs you so we can be whole again."

The tone of his voice made Bella look sharply at him. "I know."

"Do you? I have to think about how this whole situation is affecting the pack. All of the pack, including Paul. Do you understand?"

She knew what he was saying. He had been sympathetic, but he was the Alpha, he had to look after everyone's best interests, no matter how deserving of his care or concern they might be.

"I understand. Just give me time?" She had meant to state her position clearly but faced with Sam's dominant stance it came out as a question.

He smiled in relief. "Of course. I'm not trying to play hardball here, Bella. I just need the pack to be able to function properly." He wandered back down the stairs and Bella stay sitting where she was, her thoughts having taken on a different dimension.

A tiny part of her bristled at Sam's authoritative tone, but the larger part of her brain knew that he was right and he was just doing his job to the best of his ability. He had been firm with her about finally reconnecting with the rest of the pack, but she knew his reasoning was fair. She had been a drain on everyone while she was wallowing in her own misery and it was time she stepped up and re-took control of her life.

But Paul...

What do about Paul?

From Sam's inferences he was suffering in her absence, but then wasn't that what she had wanted – for him to suffer?

She wasn't so sure anymore.

But maybe she was overcomplicating things. Maybe it wasn't a matter of just brushing the past under a rug and hoping it didn't spring back up on her. Apart from spending some time with the pack, and getting back to her normal routine, maybe it was just about facing Paul down instead of hiding away.

Sam had told her she didn't need to forgive Paul. All he wanted was for her to return to her rightful place within the group. Maybe that place had changed a little, but it was still there. She was still needed and wanted, it was just in a different manner than before.

And yet when six o'clock came and all the wolves started crowding downstairs to eat, she froze.

She couldn't go down there, what was she thinking? If she went downstairs they would expect her to be all over Paul; they would assume that she had forgiven him for what he had done. They would think that she had finally agreed to let him give her the mating mark.

Bella stood up, then sat down, then stood up again. She got as far as the door before she panicked and ran back to her bed, climbing under the covers once more.

She would stay here for tonight. Sam had said that she didn't have to come downstairs until tomorrow, so she would wait until then. Content to have that decision made in her mind, she leaned back against the pillows, only to jolt upright when Jake burst into the room.

"Bells!"

He padded over to the bed and picked her up under her arms like she was a small child.

"What are you doing moping up here? Sam said you were coming down tonight."

"Hey!" She batted at his hands and managed to get him to drop her back onto the bed. "I never agreed to that. Besides, he said that I could leave it until tomorrow."

Jake stared at her for a few seconds and then scoffed. "Yeah, not going to happen. Come on."

Ignoring her protests and her waving arms, he grabbed her around the waist and slung her over his shoulder, this time making sure she was securely in his grasp. Bella shrieked and starting beating her fists against his back.

"You put me down right now, Jacob Black."

He snorted at her pathetic attempts to free herself.

"Not a chance. Leah's decided to cook for us all tonight and you need to come and save us. None of us deserve chicken like we had last time and Sam's mean enough to make us eat it just so he can get laid."

"Jake!"

Bella caught a brief glimpse of the curious stares of the pack as she was carried through the living room and deposited unceremoniously in the kitchen.

"Hey Leah, Bella's here to help you." He shot both women a grin before sauntering out, ignoring the death glare he was receiving from Bella.

She was just about to protest that she hadn't wanted to leave her room when Leah grabbed her and pulled her into a hug.

"Oh thank God you're here. I need help. I stuck this in the oven an hour ago and look, it's not cooked. What am I doing wrong?" the older girl wailed.

A cursory glance revealed the problem.

"Umm, it would probably help if the oven was switched on."

"Seriously?!" Leah eyebrows shot up and she rushed to confirm Bella's diagnosis. "Well shit. I guess we're having pizza again."

"Here." Bella gently pushed the other girl out the way and switched the oven on. "If you chop up some vegetables and salad for me then I'll sort this out beef out."

Leah kissed her on the cheek and then retreated to the fridge. "You're a star."

Bella shook her head and got on with rescuing the meal that Leah had ruined. Strangely, now that she was downstairs being around everyone wasn't scary at all. It was strangely comforting to be stood here in this kitchen just the same as before cooking a meal for all the hungry wolves outside.

It seemed they had missed her too as one by one they crept into the kitchen under the guise of stealing food or getting a drink, only to them accost Bella as she was cooking. They gave her quick hugs, brief kisses on the cheek or forehead, or in Collin and Brady's case, bounding in with no subtlety whatsoever and spinning her around until she screamed in protest.

The detachment she had been feeling ever since Paul had bitten her was completely dissolved by the shows of affection she had been treated to. This was her home and these were her family and this was where she belonged.

Of everyone who traipsed in and out of the kitchen though, there was one exception.

Paul.

Finally, after what was probably her fiftieth glance towards the living room, Leah stepped in front of her, blocking her view.

"He's sitting at the table with the others."

"What?" Bella was startled. "What do...? I don't know what you're talking about."

Leah rolled her eyes. "Sure, you don't."

Bella turned back to the counter, before sneaking another sideways look towards the door.

"He is?"

Leah grinned triumphantly. "Yeah, of course. He would have come in to see you like the others did if he thought Sam would let him. He's under strict orders, watertight ones this time, to leave you alone until you make the first move."

"Oh." Bella didn't know what to say to that.

"Do you want to make a move?" Leah wiggled her eyebrows.

Bella shrugged. "Do I have a choice?"

The smile immediately disappeared from Leah's face. "Of course you do, and you know you do, so don't be a bitch about it."

Bella flinched at being called out on her harsh response. The two girls worked silently side by side after that. Just before Leah was about to take the first dish out to the table, Bella stopped her with a hand on her arm.

"I do...I mean, not make a move...but I do want to see..." She shrugged, unsure of how to finish that sentence.

Leah nodded. "Then make it happen."

The other boys came trailing in to help bring the food out. Bella personally thought that they just wanted to get their hands on whatever was their favourite first. With everyone settled around the table, Bella grabbed the last baking dish and walked out to the waiting crowd.

"Okay, here you go. Everyone can dig in now."

She set the dish down only to find that instead of digging in like usual, everyone was silent. They were all glancing nervously between her and Paul, where next to him was the only remaining empty seat.

There was a strange pause and then Quil gallantly stood up. "Here, Bella. I'll move over and you can sit next to Jake and Kim."

He went to move but stopped abruptly when she held up her hand.

"No. No, it's okay. You can stay where you are."

There was another awkward silence while Quil sat down and then Leah slapped Sam in the back of his head.

"Well, are we going to eat or what?"

With that, normal business was resumed. There were hands and arms everywhere as the wolves fought to get the biggest portions, ribbing each other when they lost out.

Bella sat down at her place only to find a full plate already in front of her. She glanced at Paul only to find him conspicuously not looking at her.

"Thank you," she whispered.

He nodded in acknowledgement and carried on filling his own plate.

As they ate, Bella felt like everyone was watching the two of them, waiting for one of them to say something or kick off a fight. In turn, she was carefully studying Paul, shooting quick glances at him from the corner of her eye. He looked a lot worse than the last time she had seen him. He was thinner for one, his cheeks hollowed, his face gaunt-looking. There were dark shadows under his eyes and some barely healed bruises littering his chest. Scarring marred the top of his right ear and Bella wondered how he had got the injury.

He was aware of her attention, she could tell by the set of his jaw, but he didn't play up to it like he would have before.

During dessert, his leg crept farther and farther over towards her, his ankle brushing against the bare skin of her leg.

She jumped at the contact, but didn't shift away from him.

He grew bolder at her lack of negative reaction, leaning towards her to whisper in her ear.

"I'm sorry."

"I know," she murmured.

He nodded again and ate a couple more bites of his food. He was leaning back in his chair slightly now and Bella could see one of his hands resting on his thigh, occasionally coming up to gesture when someone spoke to him.

Tentatively, she reached out and touched his palm, earning her a quizzical glance. He didn't object though when she carefully threaded their fingers together under the table.

Warmth spread through her body from where they were touching and in that moment Bella realised that the claiming mark he had given her affected her as much as him. She hadn't understood before then just how much she missed him.

"This doesn't mean I forgive you, you know?" she said quietly. "There's still a long way to go."

"I know." He squeezed her hand. "But it's a start."

"Yeah," she agreed. "It's a start."


	13. Epilogue

**So here we are at the epilogue. Like I said last chapter, there's a couple of outtakes I'll be posting before Christmas, but apart from that it's all over. Thank you so much for sticking with me through it all. I hope you enjoyed this story, even though it ended up being a little bit more controversial than I intended.**

**So thank you so much for reading, I really appreciate it. And for the last time, I don't own Twilight, at all.**

**Part of the Pack**

It wasn't perfect, not by any stretch of the imagination.

Bella was still too angry with Paul for making the mating decision for her; Paul was still too unapologetic to hide his delight that Bella bore his claiming mark, if not his mating bite.

There was a stalemate, one that neither side was going to break.

She was happy to spend time around Paul when the rest of the pack were around, but now when they were alone. Sam had requested that they share some proximity with each other just so that the physical toll of the claiming mark could be assuaged – the last thing he wanted to push Bella further than she could handle, but he needed all of the pack in peak condition so no-one got hurt.

She wanted to forgive him so badly, she wanted things to get back to the way they had been before he had bitten her, but until she felt that he truly understood the consequences of what he had done, she was unwilling to yield an inch.

Their first mating season was hell for everyone.

Paul insisted on following Bella around everywhere, unable to leave her alone in the vicinity of other males. This in turned pissed Sam and Leah off. The older wolf was constantly forced to curtail his own time with his mate, in order to make sure that Paul respected the boundaries that Bella had put up.

Everyone was glad when summer came around and the urgency that had guided the wolves' behaviour was over.

Slowly but surely, Bella and Paul began to regain the relationship they were building towards before he had taken the decision to mark her.

Things finally came to a head though when the new college year began and Bella, with Kim by her side, cut down on her correspondence classes and started going into Port Angeles to the community college there a few days a week. All was going well until Paul stopped by one day to pick the girls up only to find her chatting to a guy in one of her seminars. He had asked her out for coffee and Bella had just declined when she saw an angry wolf storming towards her and her companion, a face like thunder, fists clenched by his sides.

Bella quickly said goodbye to her companion and then rushed to intercept Paul before he landed the poor student in hospital and himself in jail. Obeying her order to just take her and Kim home, Paul had sulked all the way home nonetheless, a heavy silence weighing down all three occupants of the car.

Kim had escaped as quickly as she could and then Bella and Paul were left alone. What followed was the biggest argument they had ever had.

And it all came out.

Paul's insecurities when it came to Bella, her anger and hurt at the claiming and his controlling nature, his fears that she would find a way around the mark and run off with Jacob, her worry that she would never be left alone by him long enough to become her own person.

They screamed and yelled and swore. Bella tried to hit him but only ended up hurting herself.

One by one all of the other wolves were drawn by the noise to find out what was happening only to be shooed away by Seth who was unobtrusively watching them fight, just to make sure they didn't try to kill each other.

The fight ended as quickly as it had begun. Bella was sobbing angrily, her hand coming up every few seconds to wipe at her drenched cheeks while she glared at Paul. He, on the other hand, didn't look angry at all, instead he looked completely devastated. He had known that Bella was angry about the way he had gone about marking her, but he hadn't realised just how deep her resentment and pain over the bite ran.

He had taken a step towards her and then hesitated about getting any closer.

Finally, he had stalked forward and pressed a hard kiss against Bella's forehead, ignoring her feeble efforts to bat him away.

"Forgive me?" he said quietly, before turning and disappearing into the trees surrounding the house.

Paul still hadn't shown up by the next day. Sam told Bella that he was trying sort his head out before he came back to her. She just nodded at that. Ever since the fight she had felt a lot lighter, almost as if she was half-drunk. It was only once she let out her repressed feelings and let Paul know exactly how she felt that she could move on. It had never occurred to her just how much she had kept inside. Part of her wanted to go and yell at Embry and Jake as well just to get the rest of her frustrations out of the way, but she restrained herself.

That night, she slept well for the first time in months and woke up refreshed the next day.

For the first time since she had been claimed, Bella felt like she could face Paul without the memory of his bite clouding everything. For the first time she felt like she could forgive him, if he asked.

She was sat on the porch sipping at her mug of coffee when he reappeared, covered in streaks of wet mud. He took a seat next to her, careful not to sit too close or get her dirty. There was nothing but silence surrounding them. Sam and Leah were out and the hum of wildlife in the distance seemed strangely far away.

"I just keep fucking up, don't I?"

Bella shrugged. "We've both made mistakes, but I think bottling up our feelings about them doesn't help."

"No." He rested his elbows on his knees. "So where do we go from here?"

She took another sip of her drink. "I don't know. Forward, I guess. Dwelling on the past is only going to hurt both of us."

He nodded. "I know I said it before, but I... I'm sorry... for what I did before."

"Are you? She raised a disbelieving eyebrow at him.

"Fuck, Bella, what do you want me to say? My wolf loves that you're claimed, sure, he would prefer it if we were mated as well, but we're practically ecstatic knowing that you're ours. I'm sorry that it hurt you so badly though. I didn't want that." He looked away and mumbled. "I never wanted that."

Bella turned over what he was saying in her head.

"So, would you do it again? If you could go back in time?"

He shook his head. "Knowing what I do now, no. I would just kick Jake and Embry's asses instead." He rubbed his hands together gleefully.

"You're that confident you would have won?" Bella asked disbelievingly.

"Of course." He sounded offended that she would even ask. His voice softened a second later. "I would've done whatever was needed."

Bella wasn't sure how to react to this impassioned declaration. Even now there was still a tiny voice in the back of her mind that whispered that Paul had only claimed her to prove his dominance over the rest of the pack. She had known that he liked her well enough, he certainly liked having sex with her, but this was the first time that the depth of his feelings had been made apparent.

He genuinely cared about her. She didn't know why that shocked her so much.

"So what now?"

Paul shrugged. "I guess that's up to you. You know where I stand, so it's all in your hands." He smirked, but it was a twisted expression. "Feel free to crush me to pieces if you want."

Bella shot him a look at that and then went back to gazing blindly into her mug, as if her coffee was suddenly a mystical fortune-telling device.

"I think we should start slow," she finally decided. "Maybe...date?" She meant her voice to be strong but her tone wandered off into a questioning lilt.

"Date?"

"No sex." She was firm on that point. "And no biting. I don't care if they're love bites or heat-of-the-moment bites – you don't come anywhere near my neck without my say so."

"Okay," he agreed.

Bella thought hard. What else did she want from him?

"You have to work on your temper. You can't just fly off the handle all the time. I don't care how dominant or whatever you are within the pack, you need to tone your aggression now. You hurt me before and..." Her voice caught. "I think if you did anything like that again..." She didn't know how to finish that threat, but she felt better for having drawn the line clearly this time.

Paul twisted his hands in front of him. "So dating?"

"Yes."

He hesitated. "And the mating?"

"I don't know," Bella finally answered. "Can we just take one step at a time and see how things go?"

"Of course." He reached out and tentatively drew her towards him so she was leaning against his shoulder. Both of them realised too late that he had managed to completely cover her in mud.

So they dated. They got to know each other in a way that hadn't been possible before.

A year came and went and finally Bella felt completely comfortable around Paul and moved in with him, hugging Sam tightly when he promised her that she would always have a home with him and Leah if she needed one.

A week after that and just before the next mating season began, Bella took Paul by the hand and led him into the forest behind their house, back to where it had all began for them, stripping off their clothes as she went.

Later, as Paul carried Bella back home, a new mating bite mark over her old claiming one, she experienced a weird sense of déjà-vu as Colin and Brady once again walked past, whooping and yelling as they passed.

It felt like a new start and in many ways Bella supposed it was. Only this time there was no conflict, no expectations.

Just her and Paul.

...and the occasional interruption from the rest of the pack.


End file.
